BOXERS FIGHT DRUGS

Gang members and long-term unemployed men and women are shaping up for
a punch-up in Kawerau - in the boxing ring.

At the heart of the Fight Against Drugs boxing exhibition on Thursday
night is a community's fight for the future of its children and "an
acknowledgment of Kawerau's deeply entrenched drug culture".

The smoke- and alcohol-free event is being organised by Warwick
Godfrey, a sports tutor with Te Wananga o Aotearoa ki Kawerau, a
programme aimed at bringing people back into mainstream society
through sport.

Guest speakers include former rugby league star Tawera Nikau, netball,
rugby and league representative Tamaku Paul, former Kiwi coach Tank
Gordon, world powerlifting champion Reuben Simanu and Dr Greg Newbold,
former prisoner and now professor of sociology at Canterbury
University.