Sharples Pita: General Debate 
Sharples Pita: General Debate 
[Volume:639;Page:9053] 
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. In a period of crisis people pull together to find a pathway forward. Me kimii te ara totika hei orangamo te ao—seek the right path to benefit your world. In Wanganui the local newspaper and district council have stood up to host this coming Friday a Love This Place public rally. In that same town the Black Power president has called out for people to come forward and take full responsibility for the crisis that resulted in the death of a 2-year-old child. We must exercise that same calm approach that commitment to solutions as we in this House exercise judgment over how best to respond to the gang drive-by shooting in Wanganui that killed JhiaHarmony Te Tua. I join with all members of this House in condemning this horrific event. The outrage that has been expressed throughout the country is testimony to the fact that New Zealanders are no longer prepared to accept gang warfare. I stand alongside those calling for that Mongrel Mob chapter to give up the actual perpetrators responsible for this shooting to the police.  
But what of a way forward from here? How can we stop gangs from taking up arms in the public arena against other gangs? It is not about a magic solution that we strip these guys of their insignia and gangs will willingly seek to address the actual offending they commit. A law banning patches will not work; neither will aggressive policing that will simply serve to drive gang activities underground. I deeply regret the shooting of Jhia Harmony Te Tua. A young life has been taken and that cannot be replaced. 
But I also regret the shooting because gangs for the first time in 37 years have begun meeting together to determine the means by which they can co-exist without violence. After years of continual fighting these meetings constitute a major breakthrough in the culture of gang conflict. Responding initially to the charge that they themselves were responsible for establishing the culture of street violence which has now been adopted by the new youth street gangs these traditional groups gathered together to consider how they might cooperate to eliminate violence. Leaders representing such gangs as Black Power the Mongrel Mob the King Cobras Highway 61 Hells Angels the Storm Troopers and many others sat side by side in the same room in discussion about how to initiate change. 
This is an opportunity we cannot ignore. A strategy to assist gangs to discard their violent activities is required by us. We have here a real chance to make a difference. Even if some form of utu—retaliation—for the Wanganui shooting follows I believe we have turned a corner on the culture of gang fighting and we must follow this up with a well-thought-out plan involving the community the agencies police and the gangs themselves. 
In the mid to late 1970s when gang warfare was at its worst with a killing happening every week in some town or other in New Zealand we began a process of creating work programmes for two of the most notorious gangs. Working with Auckland mayors we created 71 jobs for one gang in the west of the city and 50 jobs for another gang in the east of the city. Gang hits immediately decreased and ultimately ceased between these two groups. 
We cannot let this opportunity pass. If we work with these leaders and others in supporting their desire to bring their children up in a non-violent environment we will effect change. It will take time to enrol all branches—all chapters—in these programmes but I feel the door is open for meaningful intervention. I urge all members to support this proposal this idea. For close to 40 years now we have not been able to crack gang violence. Now gang leaders themselves for the first time want to eliminate this violence. That to me is a major major move forward that we cannot afford to turn our back on. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker.