The number of Maori wardens in Northland has significantly declined, the head of Australia's Victoria Maori Wardens says.
James Hohepa Smith, of Ngapuhi and Te Rarawa descent, is leading 79 Maori wardens who do voluntary work in the community looking out for wayward Maori youth on Melbourne's inner city streets.
He was home in Kaitaia recently and while being interviewed on a local iwi radio station, some listeners asked him to come home and carry out patrols.
Mr Smith says after leaving the studio he met two police officers who mistakenly thought he was working in Kaitaia. When he explained that he was only visiting, they asked if he could stay.
Those same comments were also echoed by others in Kaitaia who want Maori wardens back in their community, he says.
He found it sad there were fewer Maori wardens not only in Kaitaia but also in Kaikohe. However, he says there are other people looking to fill the void left by the declining numbers of Maori wardens, who are either dying or moving away.
Mr Smith says he met a youth petrol group in the Far North called Street Mates who are doing the same thing the Maori wardens used to do - engaging and steering young Maori away from mischief and crime.
