Call for action after wild party at short-stay house

Police say violence at an Auckland party that saw a young person hospitalised is an isolated incident, but neighbours maintain it's an ongoing issue that needs action. 

Teenagers ran for their lives when trouble broke out on Phyllis St in the suburb of Mt Albert shortly before 10pm on Friday.

A vehicle drove towards partygoers, injuring two people, and two others were injured during wider disorder. Some reported that partygoers were attacked with machetes.

A young person seriously injured remains in hospital after surgery.

Detective Senior Sergeant Anthony Darvill said some what unfolded at the party was unacceptable.

"I want to reassure people that we are working as hard as we can to get to the bottom of what happened.

"This behaviour won't be tolerated in our community, and investigators are working diligently to identify those responsible and hold them to account for their actions."

Darvill said police understood there was frustration and concern surrounding the incident among the community, but it appeared to be isolated.

However, neighbours say problems with out-of-control parties in the small street were ongoing.

Neighbours have told RNZ the house where the party was held is listed on short-stay accommodation platforms, but said previous efforts to highlight disruptions connected with parties at the property - and another next door - had been unsuccessful.

Phyllis St resident Rosemarie Powell said locals had raised the problems with MPs and other authorities, and asked for measures making landlords more accountable - but nothing had changed.

"Our emergency services having to clean up these problems - you know, young people getting really hurt - these are all the symptoms of something that's much broader that needs to be dealt with, and I think that's landlord accountability for short-term rental. 

"It is cheap and easy for teenagers to book this property for one night to have a house party that, as demonstrated last night and many times before, can get quickly out of hand.

"Neither the landlord nor the people booking the house have connections with the neighbourhood and community, there is no oversight or accountability if there is underaged drinking or drugs being consumed.

"No one has to face their neighbours on the street the next day, and no one cares about the many small children who live on the street. Not to mention the very real and demonstrable risk the young people are exposed to who attend these gatherings."

The ongoing situation was frustrating, she said: "It does create a real lack of security in the short run."

And in a city where there was a housing shortage it chafed doubly so: "In the long run it's also just a waste of a home that could be housing a family."

Powell said she understood the landlord was a foreign businessman who owned a number of properties across Auckland.

"These properties are essentially land banking, and are not in any way supporting local housing and accommodation needs. Some families have lived in these homes from time to time, but the long-term rent is too expensive for them. We have great local schools, sports teams etc. Close to supermarkets, public transport.

"These houses could provide a home for a family who would benefit from and contribute to the neighbourhood. Instead they are used to land bank, and as a venue for completely unaccountable parties that turn violent."

Lack of regulation and enforcement for properties available for short-term rental was the underlying problem, she said.

"It is not acceptable that landlords can get away with accepting short-term bookings without any background reference, or proof of age for example, and oversight and responsibility for what happens on their property."

Another neighbour, Anna McKessar, earlier told RNZ incidents that spilled out of earlier parties at the properties had "turned into this massive thing", and included damage to cars and fences in the street.

"It's pretty upsetting for neighbours, and the person that owns those properties has never shown up, never apologised, and shown no remorse."

Powell hoped the latest incident would spark broader investigation and discussions on the issue "so that we can help to hold landlords and the wider system accountable to help reduce harm in the future."

Darvill said police want to hear from anyone with footage from the event, or who had not yet spoken to them.

Information could be provided by calling police on 105 or visiting their Update Report page online at 105.police.govt.nz and quoting file number 260328/8294.

People could also get in touch anonymously, through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or on the website.