Brown and Bridges clash with Mongrel Mob PR rep during heated appearance at Parliament - 'When are they going to stop selling meth?'

The invitation came after Brown accused the chapter’s submission on gun laws as being more of a “PR exercise”.

National's Simeon Brown received an invitation to visit the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom, during a heated exchange at Parliament today.

Louise Hutchinson, who does media for the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom, presented to MPs during the select committee stage of a proposed law to that gives new powers to police 'to make sure the most dangerous gang members don't have firearms, while not putting unnecessary restrictions on legal gun owners'.

"The Mongrel Mob Waikato Kingdom is about whakawhanaungatanga, connectiveness. We are healing ourselves from the intergenerational and historical trauma. Yet we are still public enemy number one," Hutchinson said. 

She said politicians’ focus was on ethnic gangs, not white supremacy.

"Instead of focusing on firearms, the instrument which violence is often expressed, it would make better sense to focus on the fundamental, social and economic factors behind violent behaviour. Our investments are in prisons, not people and communities."

Simeon Brown, whose name the proposed law is in, accused Hutchinson's appearance at the select committee of being "more of a PR exercise than a submission on the legislation".

"When are your members going to hand over their firearms and when are they going to stop selling meth, which destroys lives in our community?

"I can listen to everything you’ve said.. but until you stop selling meth to the community across New Zealand and you hand in your guns, I’m not going to believe it."

Hutchinson denied this, asking Brown to visit the Waikato chapter. 

"You come to our organisation and see for yourself, instead of reading (in the media)."

When asked by 1 NEWS if he would visit, Brown said that he did not need to visit "to see what I already know". 

"The Waikato Mongrel Mob should hand in their illegal firearms and stop selling meth, which is destroying lives."

This comes after Brown labelled the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom as a 'bunch of scaredy cats' after they cancelled their first scheduled submission on the bill last week. 

Simon Bridges then asked, "why should we taking anything you say seriously when he doesn’t take the laws of this land seriously?"

Leader Sonny Fatu said in 2019 that gangs around New Zealand would not hand in their weapons during the gun buy back as they could not guarantee their own safety. 

Hutchinson said allegations the Mongrel Mob Waikato Kingdom held illegal weapons was "incorrect". 

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