'We're coming to get you': A rural town tackling its meth problem

A rural town in Central Hawke's Bay has one of the highest levels of meth in the country, and its community is trying to tackle the issue together.With a population of just 5000, Waipukurau is a friendly and quiet town, but its reputation as a close knit, hard working community is tainted by meth.In 2024, wastewater testing in the town found meth consumption had soared 333 percent in 12 months, to more than 4.8 grams per day, per thousand people.Results have remained consistently high ever since, despite a covert police operation that ended in three people being arrested in December 2025 for supplying methamphetamine.Waipukurau's wastewater ponds, where testing has revealed some of NZ's highest levels of methamphetamine.RNZ / Alexa CookA Waipukurau social support worker, who wants to be known only as Bob, told RNZ that meth is everywhere in the town."I'm tired of working with this s***, it is draining and it will suck the life out of you."Who isn't on it?" he said.Bob is a former addict, and through his work helping others with their addictions, he feels meth is becoming normalised - like alcohol."There are so many people accepting it as is, it's just their day-to-day norm... their routine along with having a cup of tea in the morning."This isn't to say it's accepted - but in pockets, and there are a variety of pockets, it is not limited to one pocket of society - this is just normal," Bob said.Hawke's Bay police area prevention manager, Inspector Caroline Martin and Central Hawke's Bay officer in charge Sergeant Neil Baker.RNZ / Alexa CookThe local police officer, sergeant Neil Baker, is trying to understand why Waipukurau's meth rates are so high."It definitely appears to be more acceptable in people's lives now and the number of people that you come across who... would have cannabis in their pocket, now they have a meth pipe and utensils or something along those lines."So yes, I think it is becoming more and more common, which is very sad," Baker said.He told RNZ the issue is hard to get his head around, but he does have a theory."I believe that we potentially have a number of functioning users who are able to use methamphetamine on a daily basis, go about their business, go about their employment, and still function as every day members of the community, but have a habit. We're certainly hearing more and more stories like that."We're seeing more people being affected by methamphetamine. And the number of those contacts is certainly increasing, those who are regular users of methamphetamine," Baker said.He said while there is a definite gang link to the distribution and sale of meth in Central Hawke's Bay, it's a much broader demographic who are actually using it."The more I learn into the distribution of it, it's certainly a lot wider. And I think that what we see on the ground is just one portion of a very big problem for the country."Baker's vowing to keep fighting back against the rise of meth in his community."I certainly hope that we haven't lost the battle just yet. We're going to continue the good fight and keep coming to work every day to try and catch as many as we can."His message to those supplying methamphetamine is clear: "Get ready, we're coming to get you."RNZ / Alexa CookWastewater testing can't tell police who is consuming meth or how much they are taking, that's why they rely on information from the public.Hawke's Bay police area prevention manager Inspector Caroline Martin said last year's arrests were thanks to people helping police, and they're urging others with any information to do the same."Seeing any consumption levels high in a community is concerning. To try and understand that, we need the community support. We do know that there are users in the community."We rely on information from the public to help us with this issue. We need people to come forward. We need people to tell us what's happening in our local community here in Central Hawke's Bay," she said.In response to the spike of meth in the wastewater, the Central Hawke's Bay Methamphetamine Harm Reduction Group was formed in 2024, which includes local leaders, organisations, health services and police.It's funded by the Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities (ROCC) programme. The programme's manager Hannah O'Leary said that support has led to the community group developing a localised strategy."Subsequent to that, there has been a road map that has been developed on actually how to implement that strategy. It's very much community based ... I think there were about 30 different people in the room discussing what works for their community."Making sure we've got the right people sitting around that table from all the different walks of life is really important," she said."What we do know is that organised groups exploit vulnerability such as disconnection, trauma, economic hardship, addiction, where there's limited access to opportunities and weakened protective factors," O'Leary said.Central Hawke's Bay mayor Will Foley.RNZ / Alexa CookThe Central Hawke's Bay Methamphetamine Harm Reduction Group has created a strategy to try and drive down Waipukurau's high meth consumption. Mayor Will Foley said that includes education and awareness around the impacts of meth, and where to go for help."The good thing about a plan is then it shows what we do need when we ask for further support."Being a small community, we don't necessarily have good facilities and services for things like that, as opposed to some of the bigger cities. So seeing what we could do to set up and just have people and services available for those people that need help."The mayor said it's a community-wide effort to tackle the town's meth problem, but he's also being realistic."We hope to reverse that trend, but we know it's going to be an ongoing issue," Foley said.Bob said he was sceptical about the group's strategy."So far nothing has worked. America's 'war on drugs', it's not unique to them... the only winner is drugs," he said.When asked if there is anything that could help reduce meth use in Central Hawke's Bay, Bob said there needs to be more facilities for addicts to "dry out"."There's a real lack of detox centres. I've always bitched and moaned about that - only one detox bed for the whole of Hawke's Bay," he said.Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey told RNZ the government is investing more in Hawke's Bay to help people access faster drug addiction support."Through the Government's Reducing Demand for Methamphetamine plan, we have committed $2.32 million over four years to Hawke's Bay, including Central Hawke's Bay and Wairoa."This investment will provide community-based, peer-led support as well as additional specialist addiction practitioners and registered nurses, with a specific focus on reducing meth harm and supporting people through withdrawal," Doocey said.Read RNZ's first story of this series here.