Power Simon: Gangs and Organised Crime Bill — Second Reading 
Power Simon: Gangs and Organised Crime Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:657;Page:6283] 
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Gangs and Organised Crime Bill be now read a second time 
. The Gangs and Organised Crime Bill was introduced by the National-led Government in its first 100 days in office. I take this opportunity to thank the Law and Order Committee for reporting the bill back in a little under the usual 6 months so that we can continue to advance this important package of reforms. 
The Gangs and Organised Crime Bill amends the Crimes Act 1961 the Local Government Act 2002 and the Sentencing Act 2002 to expand and enhance the tools available to police to fight gangs and organised crime. The bill amends section 98A of the Crimes Act to make participation in an organised criminal group an offence punishable by 10 years’ imprisonment which is a doubling of the existing penalty to better reflect the culpability of those involved in this insidious activity. This section which has rarely resulted in convictions has also made it easier to prosecute although still requiring the Crown to prove appropriate knowledge of the accused. These amendments are complemented by provisions that will enable police to obtain an interception warrant where there are reasonable grounds to believe a person is participating in an organised criminal group. The Local Government Act is also amended so that police or territorial authorities can seek a removal order against gang structures where they are intimidating. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker) 
: I do not want to interrupt the Minister but there is a lot of chatter in the House this afternoon. Could people if they want to have a conversation move out into the lobbies and have a conversation there please? That includes the person who is interjecting over my voice. 
Hon SIMON POWER 
: Finally the Sentencing Act is amended to make participation in an organised criminal group or other form of organised criminal association an aggravating factor at sentencing. 
As I understand it there is a high degree of cross-party support for this bill and I thank those parties in the House that are prepared to support this bill through its next stages. The Law and Order Committee has recommended several useful changes that will make the bill’s proposals more effective without in effect changing the bill’s policy intent. I am advised that the committee received 11 submissions on the bill and heard seven. A number of submitters raised concerns about a possible breach of fundamental rights of association and expression and possible discrimination. But the bill has been carefully crafted to ensure that it does not infringe on those rights. No amendments to the bill were required to ensure compliance with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and I am pleased about that. 
The first substantive change to the bill that the committee recommended is a small amendment to section 7A of the Crimes Act. It concerns offences with transnational aspects such as participation in an organised criminal group. The amendment will enable people who contribute to the objectives of organised criminal groups in this country from offshore to be prosecuted under section 98A. Officials also recommended a change that will enhance the bill’s effectiveness for police by helpfully increasing the range of serious violent offences covered by section 98A(2). Currently a group is an organised criminal group if it has as one of its objectives serious violent offences that are punishable by 10 years’ imprisonment or more. The amendment will expand this threshold to 7 years’ imprisonment or more so that organised criminal groups who commit a wider range of serious violent offences are captured. Additional offences that will be covered by this amendment include perverting the course of justice with a violent component certain firearms offences and certain wounding and injury offences. 
Furthermore the existing threshold for obtaining an interception warrant for serious violent offences under Part 11A of the Crimes Act 1961 is relevant offences punishable by at least 7 years’ imprisonment. Accordingly the proposed amendments to section 98A(2) will introduce a consistency and coherence into the definition of “serious violent offence” across the relevant provisions of the Crimes Act. The committee also recommended amendments to clause 5 of the bill to ensure that unnecessary duplication in the listing of offences does not occur in the definition of “specified offence” for interception warrant purposes. Actually the effect of this amendment is merely to ensure that only existing specified offences carrying less than 7 years’ imprisonment are listed. Those existing offences carrying 7 years’ or more imprisonment are already covered by the general threshold amendment in clause 5(1). The effect of the amendments proposed in clause 6(3) and clause 8 is simply to ensure that the grounds for applying for an interception warrant are specified consistently throughout the relevant provisions of the Crimes Act. 
The recommended amendments to the Sentencing Act 2002 will see provisions that will strengthen the application of this new aggravating factor. As the provision in this bill was drafted a prosecutor was obliged to show that a person committed his or her offending partly or wholly because of his or her participation or involvement in organised crime. This would have enabled criminals to argue for example that their motivations were purely selfish and were not intended to benefit the group and that their gang patch and criminal associations were merely a coincidence. A person’s motivations are not always straightforward to prove. The amendment to enable the court to draw its own conclusions about the nature and extent of any connection between the offending and the offender’s participation in an organised criminal group or other criminal association is a definite improvement. I would like to thank as I understand it particular members of the Law and Order Committee for their contributions on this point. 
This bill is just one of the initiatives from this Government that will enable the police to make some real progress against organised crime. This Government has already passed the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act which will come into force in December; the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Bill I am advised is making excellent progress and the Search and Surveillance Bill is currently at the Justice and Electoral Committee. Together these initiatives will make a difference. In respect of this bill I commend the bill to the House.