Kerre Woodham: The murder of an innocent worker rests on the Government

Sunny Kaushal, Chair of the Dairy and Business Owners Group, has been saying it for ages.

This is a quote from an interview he gave some months ago. “Be under no illusion, it's just a matter of time before someone is killed or seriously injured and the Government will be to blame because they've taxed cigarettes to be worth more than a bottle of whiskey.”  

That was when he was talking about the cigarette taxes. 

There are also numerous times he's warned that with the ram raids, it will also only be a matter of time before somebody is killed and Sunny was right.

Last night, a neighbourhood dairy in Sandringham was robbed at knifepoint. The person behind the counter was stabbed and later died in hospital of their wounds. 

Of course somebody was going to be killed. You cannot have this level of lawlessness, this level of disregard for property and people without the inevitability of somebody being killed.  

This is entirely on the Government and its softly, softly approach with criminals and lawbreakers. 

I am really, really angry this morning. It is utterly needless.  It's been like watching a car crash in slow motion. Of course this was going to happen. It was simply a matter of time.

And the naysayers say well, what are you going to do about? I'd do exactly what Mark Mitchell has suggested. Ban the gang patches. Don't allow them to associate together. Get tough on the truants and the parents who allow their kids to truant. Start having consequences for actions.

Throw out the violent, aggressive tenants and the Kainga Ora establishments. Give those rooms to the people on the social housing list. Start having meaningful consequences for actions.

This didn't happen overnight. We've seen, basically, civil society eroded over the past few years, and enough is enough. There’s got to be a line in the sand, and unfortunately, it took the death of an innocent for that to happen.

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