A video obtained by Te Ao Māori News shows Labour candidate Kerrin Leoni attending an event that appears to have been organised by and for Mongrel Mob members and their whānau.
The footage does not show Leoni at a gang pad, but shows her attending an event where Mongrel Mob members were present.
Te Ao Māori News understands the gathering took place on October 3 at a property in Papakura, Auckland.
It was promoted as a “Whānau kaupapa” and also served as a fundraiser.
Leoni did confirm she attended the event in early October.
“I attended a whānau function where some of those present were whānau gang members,” she said in a statement.
The footage comes after Te Pāti Māori’s Oriini Kaipara, incumbent MP of the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate, accused Leoni of visiting a gang pad during a debate broadcast by Whakaata Māori on October 21. Leoni denied the claim.
Leoni maintains she has not attended a gang pad during the election campaign.
“Many of my whānau are proud of my involvement in politics and have supported me throughout my political career. I’ve always tried to be a role model for my whānau,” she said.
Wearing Labour campaign branding and standing alongside her campaign hoardings, Leoni is heard encouraging people at the event to vote.
The footage is about 90 seconds long. Leoni appears near the end, greeting people at the event, including Mongrel Mob members.
She also appears to take part in a Q&A, with her campaign hoardings visible.
“Some of them you might know who aren’t enrolled to vote and they can have the power to change the government,” she says.
During the Tāmaki Makaurau debate, Leoni acknowledged she has gang members in her whānau.
“I’ve been really open about my whānau, and that I also have whānau members who are gang members,” she said.
‘I have absolutely accepted that’
Labour Leader Chris Hipkins told media on Thursday afternoon he was taking Leoni at her word.
“I have not asked her for a detailed breakdown of every interaction that she’s had with members of her own family, but she did say yesterday that she had not visited a gang pad as part of her election campaigning, and I have absolutely accepted that.”
Hipkins said he did not expect “to see any of our MPs or candidates campaigning in gang pads.
His comments follow a visit last week by Te Pāti Māori and Green Party candidates to a gang pad, which Hipkins described as an act of “bad judgement”.
He has also ruled out giving either party key law-and-order portfolios in a future government.
