The organiser of last weekend’s chaotic boy racer event in Levin and Ōtaki has told 1News they have no plans to stop anytime soon.
“I wanted to leave a mark, and to show the Government that we don’t care about your hoony laws and all the new laws that are coming in, because we’re here to stay,” the man said.
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The Wellington man asked not to be identified as a condition of talking to 1News.
He said he spent months planning what he called the “Levin invasion”.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell visited Feilding this week, where a community meeting was held and locals shared their concerns about boy racers.
“Where is the consequence for their behaviour?” one man asked.
“I think they’re as bad as the gangs,” another person said.
“Bring the army in, clamp them and crush them,” another man suggested.
Mitchell said he expected frustration at the community meeting and said part of the problem was a lack of respect for frontline police.
“There has been a loss of respect, not just for our police, but also anyone in any position in authority in our society,” the Polcie Minister said. “The country is fed up with it — I’m fed up with it,” he said.
Mitchell said he wanted tougher laws enacted so police could seize and keep cars from boy racers who broke the law.
However, the organiser of the Levin boy racing event wasn’t a fan of such legislation.
“I’d tell him to get f*****, honestly,” the boy racer said.
“They can crush a car, but we can always go buy another one, it’s not hard,” he said.
One Ōtaki couple told 1News they were at “breaking point” after their property was surrounded by hundreds of cars, spectators climbed on their roof, and set off fireworks last weekend.
“It was appalling to be honest, aggressive, anti-social, and blatantly dangerous behaviour,” Ōtaki MP Tim Costley said.
The organiser of the “Levin invasion” said they want a purpose-built facility for car enthusiasts to use.
“What we’re doing is illegal, I understand that but — until we get a proper skid pad or somewhere safe to do it — we’re going to keep doing it on the streets,” he said.