Key Takeaways:
- The government has launched a plan to combat transnational organised crime, including setting up a new agency and minister responsible.
- The plan aims to disrupt criminal networks in the Pacific and improve inter-agency information sharing.
- The chairperson of the ministerial advisory group on organised crime, Steve Symon, wants to see a commitment of resources in Budget 2026 to tackle the issue.
- Organised crime is affecting all New Zealanders, with effects including a rise in methamphetamine use, fraud, and cyber fraud.
- The government’s plan includes setting up a joint customs, GCSB, and Defence Force maritime campaign to disrupt organised criminal groups’ networks across the Pacific.
Introduction to Organised Crime in New Zealand
The chairperson of the ministerial advisory group on organised crime, Steve Symon, has expressed his concerns about the growing issue of organised crime in New Zealand. Despite the government’s recent launch of a plan to combat transnational organised crime, Symon wants to see a commitment of resources to tackle the issue. The plan, which includes setting up a new agency and minister responsible, developing inter-agency information sharing, and establishing a maritime campaign to disrupt criminal networks in the Pacific, is a step in the right direction, but Symon believes that more needs to be done. Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello has also acknowledged the need for a stronger and more cohesive response to organised crime, stating that New Zealand and its Pacific neighbours are being increasingly targeted by organised criminal groups.
The Impact of Organised Crime on New Zealand
Symon has warned that the effects of organised crime are reaching into all corners of New Zealand, whether through a rise in methamphetamine use, fraud, and cyber fraud, or migrant exploitation. He has pointed to Australia’s response to the illegal tobacco problem as an example of how not to tackle the issue, stating that the response was not quick enough to disrupt what had become a $10 billion industry for criminal groups. Symon believes that the advisory group’s recommendation to set up a new department and minister responsible for the issue is justified, given that there could be up to 19 or 30 different agencies involved in addressing the problem. He has emphasized the need for a coordinated response, stating that the public expects agencies to work together to successfully stop organised crime.
The Influx of Drugs at the Border
University of Canterbury’s Pacific regional security hub head Jose Sousa-Santos has expressed concerns about the influx of drugs at the border. Despite larger seizures by customs, the price of methamphetamine remains stable, suggesting that there is still a significant amount of the drug entering the country. Sousa-Santos believes that the government and the public should be worried about the influx of drugs, which are moving through the Pacific from South America, Canada, and South East Asia to New Zealand and Australia. He has pointed to the need for a joint effort to disrupt organised criminal groups’ networks across the Pacific, stating that this could strengthen the region’s national security.
The Government’s Plan to Combat Organised Crime
The government’s plan to combat transnational organised crime includes setting up a joint customs, GCSB, and Defence Force maritime campaign to disrupt organised criminal groups’ networks across the Pacific. Sousa-Santos believes that this could be an effective way to strengthen the region’s national security, stating that the Pacific Ocean is a large space to operate in, and that this campaign could ensure that New Zealand is able to be secure and work with its partners in the Pacific. Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello has also emphasized the need for a flexible and responsive approach to organised crime, stating that the key thing is to recognize that organised crime is a business that will do anything it can to make a profit.
The Need for a Commitment of Resources
Symon has emphasized the need for a commitment of resources to tackle the issue of organised crime. He believes that the government’s plan is a step in the right direction, but that more needs to be done to disrupt criminal networks. Symon has pointed to the need for a coordinated response, stating that the public expects agencies to work together to successfully stop organised crime. He has also emphasized the need for a lessons learnt policy from New Zealand’s neighbours in the US and South-East Asia, stating that the tactics used by organised criminal groups are not new, but have been utilised in other regions for decades. With the government’s plan in place, it remains to be seen whether the necessary resources will be committed to tackle the issue of organised crime in New Zealand.