National's idea to mirror an Australian state by establishing an elite 'Strike Force Raptor' police unit targeting gangs has bloomed into a meme extravaganza on Twitter.
The proposal sparked a flurry of imaginative ideas online, including a dedicated "strikeforceraptor" Twitter page setup on Tuesday with the description: "Fighting crime since the Cretaceous period."
New South Wales' Strike Force Raptor police unit was established in 2009 to crack down on gangs, and has no connection to the Velociraptor dinosaurs that lived about 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.
But that didn't stop Twitter from having a field day with it.
One Twitter user said 'Strike Force Raptor' "sounds like a great anime", while another suggested it sounds like something their nephew would "name his pet fish".
Another questioned if 'Strike Force Raptor' was a real policy proposal: "Wait.... is Strike Force Raptor an actual thing or just a meme Twitter is using?"
The proposal was even compared to US President Donald Trump's 'Space Force' military branch launched August, with one Twitter user suggesting it team up with Strike Force Raptor.
Others were confused about what the proposal really is: "Read a few more things about the Strike Force Raptor concept... So basically it's a gang (of cops) formed to fight gangs?"
Google Trends showed a massive spike in 'Strike Force Raptor' searches in New Zealand on Tuesday - mostly in Auckland and Wellington - after National released its law and order policy document.
Labour MP and minister Iain Lees-Galloway didn't miss the opportunity to poke fun at National, tweeting: "OK National, that's enough TV for you. Time for bed. You can finish watching Strike Force Raptor in the morning."
Members of the Press Gallery in Wellington also joined in with memes of their own.
Newsroom's Laura Walters posted an image of a giant blown up dinosaur in the Press Gallery staffroom with the caption: "Have found the squadron leader for the Nat's new Strike Force Raptor Unit."
NZME's Jason Walls even captured the moment National leader Simon Bridges appeared to have a mullet on the 6pm news during the policy proposal announcement, when someone with long hair stood behind him.
Walls tweeted a screenshot to show Bridges liked his Tweet and thanked the National leader for being a "good sport".
Bridges defended the policy proposal on Wednesday, telling The AM Show New Zealand is "losing the war on gangs right now", and that the Australian taskforce had proven to be "remarkably successful".
"It will be people with both accounting and forensic expertise through to [people with] the ability to go kick in doors."
Bridges acknowledged the current specialist police groups, such as the Gang Focus unit in the Hawke's Bay, empowered to shut gang crime down. But he said they don't have enough power.
"It is not resourced enough, it is not all over New Zealand, and it doesn't have the range of powers and tools."
The Australian taskforce was established following a bloody brawl inside Sydney Airport in 2009 involving the Hells Angels and the Comancheros - leading to several gang members being deported to New Zealand.
You can read National's law and order discussion document here.
