Goudie Sandra: Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bill — In Committee 
Goudie Sandra: Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:653;Page:2091] 
SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) 
: 
 I would like to focus on the purpose of the bill which is to prohibit the display of gang insignia in specified places in the district. The Wanganui District is looking to specify places. There is not much difference between this legislation and the liquor ban legislation that local authorities have successfully embraced country-wide. It has been a huge success up and down New Zealand. We can go to public places and families can take part in New Year celebrations and not feel vulnerable around people who are drunk. That is because of liquor bans in public places. This bill is no different from that sort of legislation whereby a council is taking an opportunity to keep its community and families and children safe. Good on you Wanganui! 
The purpose of the bill is to prohibit the display of gang insignia in specified places in the district—that is the Wanganui District. But I say that other districts throughout this country will look to adopt this same legislation. The one problem with this bill is that it does not have a schedule whereby other local authorities can add their names to it and do the very same thing as Wanganui. I say “Good on you Wanganui! You are leading the way in making sure that you keep your community feeling safe and not so vulnerable by prohibiting the display of gang insignia.” The definition of “gang insignia” does not exclude words—because words are also symbols—that might be related to a gang. 
This legislation relates to specified places—unlike what was stated by the previous speaker it does not apply just anywhere and everywhere. This is similar to the liquor bans implemented in specified public places in the district. If one reads the purpose—and I put it to Opposition members that perhaps they might like to actually read the purpose—it relates to specified places in the district. [ 
Interruption 
] Look we can tell! Members opposite are supposed to be focused on the purpose of the bill but all the previous Opposition speaker could do was talk about another political party. He could not even focus on the purpose of the bill. I would be very interested to hear what Opposition members understand the purpose of the bill to be. Of course this is a part of the nanny State complex that members of the Opposition have whereby they want to try to control everything and not allow communities to instigate their own forms of control and to act to safeguard themselves. That is what Wanganui is doing but oh no the Opposition does not like that. It wants absolute control and to be the absolute arbiter of everything. I say “Good on you Wanganui. You are taking proactive steps to look after your community and you have the ability to do that through this local bill.” This is something that everybody—including all councils throughout this country—will be watching with interest to see what the outcomes are from the purpose of this bill in regard to constraining the wearing of gang insignia in specified places within the district. 
Although this bill is for the Wanganui District Council there will be councils up and down the country that will look to the outcomes from this bill and want to do exactly the same thing in their district. 
Grant Robertson 
: Make it a Government bill then. Why isn’t it a Government bill? 
SANDRA GOUDIE 
: Maybe that member might like to take a call— 
Moana Mackey 
: He already has! 
SANDRA GOUDIE 
: Well he has but he did not actually know what the purpose of the bill was. He did not focus on the purpose of the bill; he talked about other political parties. He might need to take another call to show the Committee that he actually has some understanding of it. 
The purpose of the bill is commendable indeed. Wanganui is not alone in this problem. This problem is occurring in other urban environments in other residential areas and in other towns and cities throughout the country. That is why in my view this is going to be just one of the first steps for other local authorities around New Zealand.