The public outrage following the gruesome assault and robbery at a Kiwi-Indian jewellery store in Papatoetoe seems to have caught the prime minister’s attention.
Christopher Luxon posted a video on social media yesterday, June 23, deriding violent robberies like the one at Pooja Jewellers two days back.
The video begins with a split screen. On the top, Luxon looks into his phone screen. On the other screen below, CCTV footage of last month’s robbery at Manurewa’s House of Gold jewellery store plays out.
The prime minister nods his head a couple times–seemingly taking in the violent robbery–and then shakes his head before keeping the phone down and staring into the camera.
“Look…this sort of thing has been happening for far too long in New Zealand,” Luxon says with a grim face before taking a rather curious turn.
“Our government said that we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, and that means there are serious consequences for serious offenders.”
As the video unfolds, the prime minister rattles off a list of steps his government is taking to stem the crime wave that has spread a reign of terror among small business owners.
Luxon appears to be using a violent robbery that happened right under his watch to highlight his government’s stellar work in reducing crime.
Coming just two days after the Papatoetoe robbery that has riled retailers across the country–many of them Kiwi-Indians–the video’s timing is conspicuous, to say the least.
Some context is in order. About six months into a National-led government, Police Minister Mark Mitchell is continuing to fend off public complaints of poor law and order by blaming his predecessors.
He has been on the move the last few weeks attending public meetings where small business owners have often asked him why crime hasn’t reduced under his watch.
The police minister’s response has been consistent–the crime peak fuelled by the previous Labour government wouldn’t abate overnight. To be fair, that line of reasoning isn’t totally unreasonable.
The government is pushing for changes it promised to make the law tougher for criminals. Legislative changes take time, and even when they do change their impact is often seen over time.
But in politics, public perception matters. It’s been six months since Luxon’s government took charge. People want to see perceptible change. Brazen assaults like the ones at Pooja Jewellers stoke the kind of frustration and fear that often leads to public discontent.
It’s no surprise then Luxon wants to show he cares–that he is not oblivious to people’s pain. That seems to be the trigger for his latest video.