Goudie Sandra: Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bill — Third Reading 
Goudie Sandra: Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bill — Third Reading 
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SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) 
: 
 I am very pleased to rise and speak to the Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bill. I will speak slowly for the benefit of the signers who are representing the Deaf community through the Chamber and signing on its behalf. I think that everybody needs to recognise and remember that they are here and speak a little more slowly to assist them in what is quite a difficult task. 
I am very proud to follow my most excellent colleague Chester Borrows who has done a magnificent job in presenting this bill to the House and in his representation in the House. Wanganui like many other metro and provincial centres has experienced gang activity and confrontations in recent times culminating in a number of public attacks and the enhanced recruitment abilities of the gangs. We only have to look at some of the headlines in the late months of 2008 to see such activity. For example in October 2008: “Wanganui: a city driven by gang rivalry”; in November 2008: “Man may have been killed over clothing colour”; and in December 2008: “Toddler’s death exposes ‘true evil’ ”. Those are just three headlines from one part of the country; I am sure there are many more throughout the country. 
I applaud Michael Laws as Mayor of the Wanganui District Council for all his efforts to do something about the intimidation and fear that gangs engender in Wanganui. I do not know whether many members have had an opportunity to either read or hear the letter from Michael Laws but I will read from it today. Before I do that I make a particular point. The previous speaker Clayton Cosgrove said that the New Zealand Police Association said that this bill will make no difference. In actual fact the Police Association the Police National Headquarters and local police all support this bill. It is very important that members when speaking to this bill do not confuse it with other bills going through the House. I think that is what happened in the case of the previous speaker because it is very very clear that the Police Association the Police National Headquarters and local police all support this bill. 
I will read a bit of the letter from Michael Laws which gives us some understanding of why there is such support: “There is clear evidence from police statistics that offences involving gang confrontations with a public safety element have been on the increase in Wanganui. The murder of a 2-year-old child was a direct consequence of these kinds of confrontations and that is confrontations between rival groups or rival gangs.” The local community wishes to feel safe from confrontation and gang intimidation. That is what my most learned colleague Chester Borrows earlier explained quite clearly to the House. The whole aspect of this bill is around intimidation and that is why it is based around the prohibition of gang insignia. There was a Supplementary Order Paper defining “gang insignia” a bit further so that it did not include tattoos. I thought that was a very sensible and important modification to the bill. But that is what it is about. I have recently come to learn that parliamentary security prevents within parliamentary precincts the wearing of clothing that bears strong gang insignia. The courts do likewise and I am sure there are other places that do the same. 
It was said that this bill was going to be for Wanganui only. That reminded me very much of the liquor laws where councils have by-laws banning liquor in public places in certain areas of their districts. Many councils throughout New Zealand have taken up the opportunity to have liquor bans. Those bans have made a huge difference to their communities. It has made people and families within those communities feel so much safer at New Year’s Eve and times like that. 
Sue Moroney 
: But liquor doesn’t have legs. 
SANDRA GOUDIE 
: The relevancy—as I am explaining to that member if she would like to take a moment to listen— is that other councils that see this bill enacted will also want the same opportunities that Mayor Michael Laws is promoting for Wanganui. There is not a schedule attached to the bill so they can just add their council’s name to the bill. I believe that other councils are watching to see what happens as a result of this bill. I believe that it will be successful it will make a difference and other councils will want to do the same. In time to come we might very well see other local bills being instigated or a modification of this legislation to allow a schedule to be added so that other councils can take the same opportunity. 
I will read further from Michael Laws’ letter: “The council members of the public and gangs alike are increasingly aware of public buildings in Wanganui and New Zealand generally where the wearing or display of gang insignia is already prohibited and that is the courthouse and the police stations included.” There are also such provisions in other countries around the world; I will name two. The US has gang injunction orders which designate a geographical area in a town or city and enjoin specified gangs named gang members or both from engaging in otherwise lawful conduct within that designated area. Also England and Wales have two pieces of legislation one enacted in 1998 and one in 2003 that work in parallel to control antisocial behaviour and unacceptable behaviour. So this provision is not something new; it has been undertaken by the mayor and the council of Wanganui as an initiative that they want to try. They want to bring about some provision for a safer community for their people to live in so that they do not feel intimidated by the wearing of gang insignia and the behaviour of the gangs living within their communities. 
At present the council has no ability to control when gang insignia may be worn or displayed and that is what this bill is all about. There is discernable evidence of antisocial activity whenever gang members wear their patches. Chester Borrows talked in his presentation about the percentage of young people who felt that having gangs present in their community was very intimidating. The statistical figures he gave were very high. This bill provides a new tool for the council: it enables the council to prohibit the wearing or display of gang insignia in specified places. That is exactly the way in which liquor bans operate. The bill will also reduce the likelihood of confrontation between gangs. 
I think that Chester Borrows has done an extraordinary job in presenting this bill to the House and I commend him and the Law and Order Committee for all their efforts. I am incredibly disappointed that Labour has yet again fumbled with the ball and failed to support such a worthy initiative.