Sabin Mike: Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSabin Mike: Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 15 May 2013. Volume:690;Page:9978. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MIKE SABIN (National—Northland): I am very pleased and proud to take a call in this debate and to support Todd McClay on this bill the Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill. It is not surprising that we hear that the Greens are opposing this because New Zealand has got used to the idea that the Greens are very much a pro-criminal party—pro-criminal rights—so we know that they will not vote for this. But what does surprise me is the misjudgment that has come from the other side of the House with the Labour Party. Labour’s vote on this shows how out of touch it is with New Zealand. Other than the Labour Party and the Greens I am not sure that we could find anyone out there in New Zealand society who would think that a gang member wearing a patch into a school or a Government building is a good thing. I can see the headlines in theDominion Post tomorrow. I am just picturing what they may be: “Labour Party backs the gangs.” Possibly it would be: “Labour Party supports the rights of gangs to intimidate.” Possibly that is a little long. Maybe we should shorten it down to: “Labour stands behind organised crime.” I do not know. TheDominion Post I am sure will have fun with it.As a former police officer I was a detective for a number of years. I worked in the areas of undercover operations surveillance jobs electronic operations—the sort of stuff that those people vote against all the time. I saw and heard firsthand the disgraceful impact of gangs on New Zealand society. They exist for one reason and one reason alone and that is to make financial gain from organised criminal activities. And what are they? Drug dealing tops the list followed closely by prostitution and let us throw a bit of money-laundering and standovers in there for good measure. They will pepper-pot whatever other crime they can fit in there because gangs exist to perpetuate nothing but misery on the citizens of any country in which they exist.Gangs are responsible for far more misery than most people will ever understand. In the year of 9/11 3000 people died in that terror attack in that travesty that we remember and that has changed the world for ever. In that same year 38000 people died in the United States of drug overdose alone—38000 people died of drug overdose. Where did they get their drugs from? Was it from the local Boy Scouts club? Was it from the bingo society? No it was from gang members—gang members. Gangs exist for nothing other than to make money from the misery of others. They destroy society. They are like a cancer that is slowly devouring its host. For every member on that side and over there on the Greens side who sits by idly and does not vote for something like this gangs get a little bit of a stronger claw-hold and that cancer takes its impact that little bit deeper.So what do gang members do to earn their patch? We have heard it from the Labour Party: “Oh this’ll do nothing. It means nothing.” What do they do to earn their patch? Armed robbery. That is a nice starting place. They will pack rape to get a patch. Grievous bodily harm is a nice one to throw in there. That will earn you your patch—not you Mr Speaker of course but a gang member. But if a gang member wants to go straight to the top of the pile in terms of getting a patch they will kill someone. They will murder and then they will plead guilty for that and they will earn their patch when they emerge from prison. It is a badge of honour. They will do anything to get it and they will do everything they can to prevent losing it. If anyone in this House doubts that then I challenge them to go to a gang member and try to take the patch off their back and see what happens because I have done that.Phil Goff raised the point: “Oh well Government departments can do that now—they can do that now.” I investigated a young man who tried to do exactly that and he had his face spread all over the floor of a public building because he tried to ask a gang member to take his patch off. So it is just completely unrealistic to suggest that they can do that now because if they could they would and they cannot. There is a reason for that. It is because wearing a patch is about intimidation. That is what having a patch is all about. Patches are a tool of intimidation. That is why they do not have nice little embroidered pictures of their families on them and things like that. They have crosses. They have skulls. They do have swastikas Mr Goff. I am not sure which patched members he has been looking at. There is a reason that gang members wear patches and it is to intimidate. It makes a bold statement.What this legislation does is that it makes a more bold statement and it will hurt gangs. They will loathe this legislation and I commend the member for having the courage to actually bring it forward. They will loathe everything this stands for because that patch that they have killed for that patch that they have robbed and raped for they will not be able to wear in Government buildings. They will not be able to wear it in schools. What does it do? It gives the police yet another reason to get in their face. And why is that? Because we should be getting in their faces. The police need these tools. This bill sends a message to gang members. It sends a very clear message that the community will not tolerate them. It sends a very clear message that this National Party—that this National Government—will not tolerate them either.What staggers me is that the Labour Party is so misguided in its judgment on this. I hope that theDominion Posthas a front page headline that says that Labour stands behind gangs because that is what the Labour Party deserves. This is a good bill. I commend it to the House.The question was put that the amendments recommended by the Law and Order Committee by majority be agreed to.