Mark Ron: General Debate 
Mark Ron: General Debate 
[Volume:641;Page:10916] 
RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 It is my privilege to stand on behalf of New Zealand First. I have to say that right now is probably a timely moment to take a little bit of a pause in what is starting to sound like a House winding up for an election. I guess that makes this little contribution appropriate because New Zealand First wants to take just a quiet moment to make something very clear to both the National Party and the Labour Party who right now are locked in a clear battle for supremacy. We simply say that it is gloves off folks may the best team win. We are watching with interest but those parties should understand very very clearly that the debate on law and order is becoming a non-negotiable debate as we watch some people—from within the public sector the Ministry of Justice the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and the Youth Court and a range of other people—make some outlandish and ridiculous statements many of which are now proven for what they are. 
The latest report released by the Ministry of Justice is the report on youth offending statistics. Those statistics make a couple of things very clear. First there have been no reliable statistics to date. It is stated in the report that the report itself has many defects and deficiencies because of the methodology that is used. So let us have no more nonsense about having the real oil on what the real statistics are. But let us be very very clear: what we do now know from that report is that 43 percent of all apprehensions in this country are from people in the age group from 10 to 20 years. Forty-three percent of all apprehensions in New Zealand are of people aged from 10 to 20. New Zealand First is saying that that is enough. We mean to lower the age of criminal responsibility one way or another. Let me tell both National and Labour this: 82 percent of the population agrees with New Zealand First. The latest Stuff poll on the web says so right now. 
My second point is that we have had enough of the platitudes and the nonsense surrounding gangs. I say to Mr Power that we do not care whether Labour stole his policy or he got an inside look at its announcements or what the truth is on that. What we do know is that Murray McCully said a long time ago that the best source of policy advice for the National Party in the run-up to the last election was New Zealand First’s website. Is that not right I say to Murray McCully? We know that. I was going to table a piece of paper that showed National’s original ideas for policy but I realised that it was a blank page. We were going to table a page of a good research database used by the National Party but it is actually the home page for New Zealand First. 
So let us have no more of that nonsense but let members understand very clearly that New Zealand First believes that the only way to deal with gangs is to outlaw them. Everything else is rubbish. The very notion that a civilised society can tolerate in its midst a bunch of lawless people who prey on the misery of others is totally abhorrent to New Zealand First and will not be accepted. If these two parties want to enter into coalition negotiations for the Government benches after the next election they should get these two points on board: first outlaw gangs; and second lower the age of criminal responsibility. New Zealand First is deadly serious about these issues. 
Bob Clarkson 
: You won’t be here. 
RON MARK 
: There goes the old boy from somewhere. He yells: “You won’t be here.” If I had $1 for every time I heard that said about New Zealand First we would not have to work. Mr Clarkson is the man who is now rated as the biggest joke ever to be inflicted on Tauranga. He is the man whom Tauranga would prefer that he goes back to building and doing what he knows best because he knows that he does not do this well at all and Tauranga is the worse for it. So shut up and listen sonny. 
New Zealand First is absolutely adamant: outlaw gangs and lower the age of criminal responsibility. It should no longer be acceptable for 43 percent of the people being apprehended in this country for breaking the law to be aged between 10 and 20. Let us have no more of the nonsense from the ministry saying: “Adult offending is as bad as youth offending.” when the ministry knows very well that in the figures it is talking about in relation to the adult offender group there are 17 to 20-year-olds who are actually young New Zealanders—youths. They are the sorts of people who in St Albans are rioting on the street outside out-of-control parties and throwing bottles bricks and pieces of wood at the police when they are trying to help the injured. That is the problem that New Zealand First intends to deal with. If we cannot deal with it in this Parliament we are sure as heck going to do it in the next one.