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September 06, 2021
No point in unofficial checkpoints says MP
Ellyce McLeod
Posted On September 6, 2021
Download AudioTe Taitokerau MP Kelvin Davis says his sympathies lie with motorists frustrated at being stopped by roadside checkpoints in the far north.
Checkpoint organiser Rueben Taipari says some people accuse Taitokerau Border Control of being vigilantes.
Mr Davis says the police working with Ngāti Whātua at the edge of Auckland have the situation under control, so there’s not need for people further north to break level three rules so they can stand by the side of the road.
“The best thing people can do if they want to stop traffic is stand at the end of their own driveways and stop people leaving their houses. There is no point having non-official people driving around Taitokerau because they are basically the only ones on the road other than those people who are delivering goods and are essential business,” he says.
Mr Davis says the checkpoints aren’t doing any harm, nor are they doing any good.
Mr Taipari said on Saturday the main checkpoint saw 485 vehicles, 225 of which were essential services, with police turning around five cars, while at a smaller checkpoint 18 o0f the 27 vehicles seen were turned around.
