National leader Christopher Luxon says a photo of him with gang members is different to those posted by opposition parties.
After posting a photo of Labour leader Chris Hipkins with someone Mongrel Mob life member Harry Tam said was a gang member, Tam then posted a picture of Luxon with Black Power members, taken at the Crown apology to survivors of abuse in care, with Tam calling Luxon "another two face hypncratie [sic] politician".
Luxon said there was a big difference between that picture and those of former Labour candidate Kerrin Leoni, or those of Green and Te Pāti Māori candidates.
"Do not conflate, when many of us in our public roles may have photos with gang members or may even engage in conversation, as I did around abuse and state care. Don't misinterpret that as us showing up there, asking for their vote, campaigning for their vote in our National Party attire and jackets."
In his apology to survivors, Luxon told them "for many of you, it changed the course of your life," and that the government must take responsibility for that.
On Sunday, he said abuse in state care "might well play a role" in people joining gangs.
"It's still unacceptable, people have free will and choice."
Luxon said there was "heaps of support" for people wanting to leave gangs, but when pressed for details, he was unable to name a specific programme.
Police spokesperson Mark Mitchell said National would "govern for everyone" and would help people trying to leave.
"My biggest concern over decades of having had contact with gangs and seeing how damaging it is through that intergenerational problem with the kids is that we want we want them to come out, and especially those with children."
Mitchell said it was "perverse" for politicians to visit gang pads, which he said were places where violence against women took place.
On Saturday, National MP Tama Potaka defended a picture of him with Mongrel Mob members, saying it was at a public hui organised by the Kiingitanga and taken in 2024, before the gang patch ban.
On Saturday, Hipkins said he could not recall the picture of himself with the man Tam said was a gang member, noting the man was not wearing a patch.
Meanwhile, Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong said it was impossible to vet every person she had taken a photo with, but the tit-for-tat over the photos was "indicative of the kind of politicking that we're seeing at the moment, rather than focusing on the big issues and the solutions that need to be put forward to solve them".
