Albany Bus Station death tragic, Hipkins and Luxon say

Labour and National leaders say a fatal attack at Auckland's Albany Bus station which led to a 16-year-old being charged with murder is tragic.

A person died in hospital shortly after an attack about 12.50pm on Monday, and a second person was left with minor injuries.

The teenager appeared in the Hamilton Youth Court today and was remanded in custody. He is next due to appear in the High Court in Auckland in October.

Police said they were supporting the 24-year-old victim's whānau "as they come to terms with this loss".

"Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time", Detective Inspector Callum McNeill said.

Auckland Transport (AT) said its transport officers would be redeployed to provide a more visible presence at the bus station and along the Northern Busway for the foreseeable future.

'Absolute tragedy'

The cordons were now lifted, and the busy station back up and running. But there remained a heavy police and security presence to reassure commuters traumatised by what they saw here on Monday.

"I stay here in Albany and when my husband told me about it, I was actually planning on going out yesterday and it was going to be around the same time," one local told Checkpoint.

"We feel safe today because [there are] a lot of police around," said another.

Albany Ward Councillor Wayne Walker said the attack had shocked the community.

"Surprised, saddened, absolute tragedy."

He said the council was working with police and Auckland Transport to ensure security measures were tightened, but he wanted to assure the public it was safe at the depot.

"We've got to do things better, but it is a really good facility and people should have a lot of confidence in being able to catch a bus safely here."

This was not the first time Walker had dealt with public safety issues at a park-and-ride, with issues at the Silverdale one earlier this year.

"There's no question that there's been an issue with youth. There appears to be a situation where you circulate around the region. There may be some turf wars going on. Certainly, we've had instances of muggings and so on."

'Just talk'

AT chief executive Dean Kempton described the increase in antisocial behaviour as troubling.

"I think it's a societal issue, first and foremost. Yes, of course we need increased policing and we need to train our people to manage those and we'll look at security guards and systems to protect.

"But I have a view that some of this comes down to individual responsibility."

He said they were also seeing dangerous behaviour on the road as well as public transport.

"We're seeing, other jurisdictions are seeing similar increases in this sort of behaviour and we're also seeing it on our roads - more risk-taking and more aggressive driving. So we're seeing it play out on a number of fronts."

Tramways and Public Transport Union national president Gary Froggatt said drivers were being abused, punched, spat on and sworn at.

"They are concerned and some incidents have been really bad. One of our drivers, in Auckland here, was punched a number of times and… he was off work for about 12 months and he's still suffering from the incident.

"Drivers are constantly raising these issues at depot meetings and health and safety meetings. They're very concerned, which causes, stress and mental anxiety.

"We've been discussing the introduction of safety screens in the bus for a long time, but that is all that really happens - just talk, with no final resolution by either the bus companies or the regional councils."

Froggatt said he had correspondence going back 10 years about security screens.

He said the number of incidents was not rising, but the seriousness of them was.

"I don't think it's increasing but the results are getting worse."

He said very few employees had been through deescalation training."

As for what was driving the aggression, he blamed - at least in Auckland - "the homeless people riding the buses for nothing and probably for something to do".

"When they're challenged by the drivers - which [drivers are] not really encouraged to do, as they've been instructed not to argue with passengers under any circumstances as that does lead to the confrontation - they're taking it out on the driver."

National, Labour respond

Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the death was a "tragedy on every level" but it was a police matter and he was reluctant to comment further on the case.

"Speaking more generally, any violent criminal offending that involves young people is very concerning and it is something that we need to do more to prevent ... I believe Kiwis can feel safe on public transport, that's not in any way to diminish the fact that these sorts of crimes will generate concern amongst the public.

"It's not okay that we have 16-year-olds out there engaging in this sort of activity."

National Party leader Christopher Luxon said it was "incredibly tragic".

"And again, you know, we see incredibly gratuitous and more violent crime across New Zealand. And I feel for the family and for all the loved ones who're involved with that family who are going through a huge set of challenges today.

"That's something that I think is unacceptable because I think the primary responsibility of the government is to make sure that people in New Zealand feel safe in their own homes and their own businesses and their own communities.

"Our hearts go out to them, but again this is symptomatic of an environment where we have - you know, to be honest - a government that is very soft on crime."

Hipkins, asked about Labour's record and plans for law and order, said the party had already done a lot of work to curb violent crime.

"Through Operation Cobalt which was something the police put in place during the time I was minister of police, over 50,000 charges have been laid against gang members ... we've introduced two new offences when it comes to, particularly, crimes against women ... they are actually part behind some of the increase in reporting of violent crime because behaviour that previously went unreported is now being reported ... we've already announced 300 extra police ... we're targeting the gangs' assets and their convoys."

On youth offending, Hipkins said Labour was tackling the underlying causes.

"The intensive support and supervision that we've been providing to repeat ram raiders has resulted in 70 to 80 percent of those kids not going on and reoffending. By contrast, another example, kids who went to the National Party's pilot boot camps when they tried them when they were last in government, 80 percent of them reoffended within six months," he said.

"The work we're doing to turn the lives of these kids around is so important, and it is why we cannot afford to turn back."