27 January 2023

Today’s attendance:
 

 

Visitors:  James Middleton, Craig Nees

President Linda was proud to announce that Indeevar is the President Elect  for the Rotary Club for 2023. Congratulations! She also welcomed back old club member James Middleton

 

Jim Rickard – 30 January

 

Viv Dykes introduced Jarred Savage - crime reporter.

 

Jarred has written two books on the evolution of crime in New Zealand. He was born and raised in Te Puna, Tauranga and went to school Bethlehem College and Tauranga Boys College.

 

He began work as a Report for the Herald on Sunday, Albert Street, Auckland. To get a good story he used to hang around the Auckland District Court. He found this was quite an eye opener. Overtime Auckland lawyers started contacting him regarding high court cases of interest. One was a Meth case, which involved organized crime and millions of dollars spent at Sky City Casino. This was his big first big story that made the front page on the New Zealand Herald.

 

The case involved money being laundered through pokie machines, and a drug cartel run from the Casino. The case was widely reported, and from this case he made some good connections and established a bigger network in the courts reporting circles

A decade or two ago organized crime was a small sleepy industry and Meth had just arrived in New Zealand. However this easily made drug changed the game across the spectrum. NZ went from a low level drug seen run by local gangs through to high profile murders and cartels that run the show. Back then the cost of a gram of meth was very expensive, which in turn made it attractive to the big boys.

 

So over Jarred’s time as a crime reporter, drugs and crime in New Zealand has grown from a corner dairy through to a national supermarket, to now being a multinational drug cartels!

With links to Asian gang syndicates and Mexican drug cartels, now running the show in New Zealand, and Meth being imported in large scale from China. The problem has become far deeper and wider than anyone would expect.

 

Whilst New Zealand is a small market, it's very lucrative. Around 2015 bigger shipments started to come into New Zealand. In which drove the price down from $300,000 per kilogram to $80,000, eventually settling at around $150,000.

 

Then from Australia, the 501’s started arriving in a new type of criminal was imported to New Zealand.  Hardened criminals! Gangs hadn't really been at war prior to this and then gang leaders from Australian gangs like the Mongols and the Comanche’s, who bought a new mentality and started gang wars. They had good connections in the international market and brought a new level of sophistication to New Zealand gang communications, which were harder to interpret for New Zealand Police.

 

Since then gangs have exploded in New Zealand with an attractive recruitment tool being the spoils of profits made from selling drugs like flash houses, fast motorbikes and the toys that come with it.

Jared also mentioned that crimes and terror have also started to increase across society.

 

So to change New Zealand corruption it will take time as a big shipments have become commonplace. With port workers partaking in bringing drugs through the port, and containers disappearing. The police have responded with better crime databases collecting information, victim’s details and 501’s history. But the only real way to combat drugs as is to tackle the demand for drugs. This will require a lot more education at a younger level like schools and families.
 

 

Mary Sullivan - RYDLA starts next week.

Five training sessions, learn to drive. Encouraging to hear on radio advertisement

Helping teach to drive is Dave MacDonald, Jim Rickard and Les


Indeevar - RYLA

RYLA on from the 15th to the 20th of April. Nominations open ages 20 to 26 years

 

Treasured Art on the Harbour is the new title for Treasure Art, The first committee meeting was last week. Auction date scheduled for the 19th of May.

Asking for ideas/donations for the raffle. Donations is always a good fundraiser for this event.

Also request made for a venue to receive the artwork. Preferably a business with reception. The receptionist would need to record the art receive and the artists details.

Mary O’Sullivan - Look for the Club High Vis Vests for Waitangi Day. Let Mary know if you know where they might be.

 

Dan started with the topic de-jure -  a new PM, with an observation - it’s funny people’s perceptions of people ‘I was having breakfast on the weekend with close friends and one said

“Oh no, looks like after election we will have another white man with a suit leading the country”,

I didn’t have the heart to say I think next week Labour will have a white man with a suit leading the country.

 

Which made Dan wondered if there might be a Rotarian better suited to be our Prime Minister, and he thought about: Warren, but even kids not doing their homework would end up in boot camp.

Buddy would help the nation understand Te Tiriti, but we can’t have our leader going to a big rugby game swearing at the rep and telling Justin Marshall to shut up.

Kathy, Wayne, Lynda, Jim, Bill?

Pat would have caucus doing a different dress up each time they got together

Sanjana?

Whoever gets the big job, they will need to help the growing number of people out of poverty.

 

Dan finished with ‘When I was a kid we were so broke we couldn’t afford the power bill.

They were the darkest days of our lives.’