Christopher Luxon pictured with Black Power members at abuse apology

Black Power members Rob, Jason and Albie Epere and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Parliament for the Crown apology. Photo / Aaron Smale, Newsroom

Photos of National MPs with gang members are doing the rounds on social media in a rebuttal to National’s criticism of politicians connecting with gangs.

Mongrel Mob life member Harry Tam posted a photo of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon posing for a photo with three Black Power members.

“So should Luxon resign too? You be the judge,” Tam asked.

The photograph, taken by Newsroom journalist Aaron Smale at Parliament during the Crown’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care, shows Luxon standing alongside Black Power Dunedin members Rob, Jason and Albie Epere.

The gang members were not wearing patches or gang insignia.

National MP Erica Stanford speaking with Black Power member and state abuse survivor Albie Epere. Photo / Aaron Smale, Newsroom

Newsroom also showed a photo of National Party MP Erica Stanford speaking with a man in what appears to be Black Power regalia.

In both cases, Luxon and Stanford were representing the Government as part of the Abuse in State Care inquiry process.

Green Party and Te Pāti Māori candidates posed for social media photos with the Mongrel Mob.

Photos of politicians with gang members have been a controversial topic since Te Pāti Māori and Green representatives attended a Mongrel Mob gathering during the election campaign.

The photographs of the politicians and candidates posing with gang members, including Tam, sparked criticism from National.

The controversy deepened on Thursday when footage emerged of Labour’s Tāmaki Makaurau candidate Kerrin Leoni appearing to campaign alongside Mongrel Mob members.

The video showed Leoni wearing Labour-branded clothing, holding campaign material and encouraging people to vote.

A photo of now-former Labour candidate Kerrin Leoni with Mongrel Mob members from an October 3 gathering she described as a "whānau event". Photo / Newsroom

Leoni maintained she had attended a whānau gathering where some relatives were gang members, rather than visiting a gang pad.

However, she resigned as Labour’s candidate on Friday after Hipkins said the footage was inconsistent with the standards he expected.

Since then, a photo has emerged of National Party MP Tama Potaka posing for a photo alongside patched gang members in 2024.

The photo was taken at the Hui-ā-motu event, convened by the late Kīngi Tūheitia.

National MP Tama Potaka posed alongside patched Mongrel Mob members at a KÄ«ngitanga event in 2023. National MP Tama Potaka posed alongside patched Mongrel Mob members at a Kīngitanga event in 2024. Photo / Supplied

Potaka told the Herald it was a “massive public hui” and he was approached by an old school friend who asked to have a photo together. It was before National’s gang patch ban came into force.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins accused Luxon of “hypocrisy” and a “massive double standard” for downplaying the significance of the photo.