Ross Jami-Lee: Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRoss Jami-Lee: Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 12 June 2013. Volume:691;Page:11111. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany):I am pleased to have an opportunity to correct the stupidity that we heard from the Hon Phil Goff just before. I call it stupidity because he was a failed Minister of Justice. He was a failed Minister of Justice. He likes to go on about crime and the police but he was a failed Minister of Justice because under his watch violent crime went up by 47 percent. That is right Mr Goff—violent crime went up by 47 percent. Then we heard from his friend Mr Kris Faafoi who is also part of the Skycity caucus—actually I think we can call them the Skycity gang within the Labour Party—who seems to be a defender of gangs as well. We have two defenders of gangs who stood up and argued against this bill the Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill. They argued against this bill because they are happy for gang members to wear their gang patches around the place around Government premises intimidating people and causing problems.Hon Phil Goff: Tell your Ministers to get on and do something about it. They’ve got all the power to do it now.JAMI-LEE ROSS: That is right Mr Goff. Mr Goff likes to talk about what he thought we were not doing about crime. Well actually Mr Goff you have got your numbers wrong because 600 extra police officers are on the streets of New Zealand. There are 600 extra police officers out there dealing with gang members and those 600 extra police officers will be able to help enforce good-quality law and order policies once this bill is passed.Hon Phil Goff: I seek the leave of the House to table a document from the Law and Order Committee today from the Minister of Police showing that the number of police officers is down 446 in the last year.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Thank you. The member is perfectly entitled to do that and I will put it to the House. Courtesy would have dictated otherwise. Is there any objection to that course of action being taken? Yes.JAMI-LEE ROSS: I seek leave to table a press release from the Minister of Police announcing 600 extra police officers in New Zealand.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Is there any objection to that course of action being taken? Yes there is. The member can finish his contribution now—or try to.Kris Faafoi: Point of order—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Oh hang on another point of order. The honourable member Kris Faafoi.Kris Faafoi: I seek leave to table the police estimates from this year showing that there is going to be an effective cut of $113 million to the police budget over the next 4 years.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Thank you. I understand that they are already available to the House so we cannot do that. I would just remind members on both sides—because it is 2-1 at the moment—that courtesy is contagious.JAMI-LEE ROSS: I want to tell the truth about the Opposition. I am going to tell the truth about the Opposition because it is a supporter of gangs. Those members do not like to hear it but they are supporters of gangs because they will not support this bill.I am going to read out some comments: “… gangs [have] a culture that promotes encourages facilitates or tolerates criminal activity collectively or individually among its members.” Those were words from Phil Goff. I just wish that he would actually believe in them. I just wish he would actually believe in them because if he did he would be supporting this bill.This bill is a good piece of legislation—first drafted by Todd McClay and now being taken through by Mark Mitchell—that will help New Zealanders. It will help New Zealanders rid their communities of gangs. Mr Faafoi wants to sit up the back smiling and laughing but actually Porirua—where there are a number of gangs operating—would benefit hugely from this piece of legislation. Rather than listening to Phil Goff he should listen to Mark Mitchell. He should listen to Mark Mitchell and listen to Mike Sabin because they know what they are talking about.New Zealanders in this country do not want to be intimidated by gangs. New Zealanders in this country do not want to see—Andrew Little: That’s why they want a proper law to deal with it not the monkey business in this bill.JAMI-LEE ROSS: I think Andrew Little must have been at Skycity too. He must have been at Skycity too. He is supporting his mates over there. New Zealanders do not want to be intimidated by gangs. They do not want people running around in the community with gang patches on. Gangs do not stand for anything good. Gangs do not stand for anything constructive. Gangs do not stand for anything law abiding. Gangs stand for a collection of criminals getting together and intimidating society and intimidating communitiesHon Todd McClay: No that’s a union.JAMI-LEE ROSS: Mr McClay says that that is a union and that is probably not too far off. But this bill does not deal with unions; this bill deals with gang patches. It deals with the people out there who have nothing good to offer society. It deals with the people out there who want to intimidate society. I think Mr Faafoi and Mr Goff should tell us why people at a local primary school should have to put up with gang members walking around the primary school showing young children what it is like to be a gang member. Why does Phil Goff think that it is OK for gang members to do that? Why does Mr Faafoi think that it is OK for gang members to do that?Mr Richard Prosser does not think that—Mr Richard Prosser does not. He has actually got a good Supplementary Order Paper Supplementary Order Paper 253. Mr Prosser is doing something constructive. Mr Prosser has got a Supplementary Order Paper that we are prepared to support. We are prepared to support his Supplementary Order Paper because it is a good one that makes some constructive changes to the bill.But the Labour Party members just want to stand up and rant and rave get their facts wrong about crime in this country and get their facts wrong about the National-led Government’s contribution to law and order in this nation which New Zealanders are supporting and which New Zealanders are seeing the results from. New Zealanders are seeing huge drops in crime—a 16 percent drop in crime so far since we have been in office; the lowest crime rate in 30 years. Kris Faafoi and Phil Goff do not care about that. Under Labour’s watch violent crime went up. Under our watch crime is going down. Under Labour’s watch the police were not supported. Under our watch we have seen more police officers.Kris Faafoi: Ha ha!JAMI-LEE ROSS: There are more police out there Mr Faafoi who are going to be supporting the community and helping to get rid of gangs.I want to speak briefly and just finish off what I was saying about the problem with gangs in the community and the reason why we need this bill. We heard some of thecomments in the select committee about people who fear gangs and about people who see gang patches on a regular basis. Mark Mitchell and Mike Sabin have real-world experience out there on the street. Todd McClay has real-world experience in Rotorua of seeing the effects the poor effects of gangs. New Zealanders do not want gang patches. New Zealanders want to be safe. New Zealanders want to be secure. New Zealanders do not want to see gangs playing a large role in local communities. If it takes a bill like this which is heavy-handed and which removes gang patches from our community to try to tackle gangs and get on top of them then that is what we need.Hon Phil Goff: It’s a powder puff bill.JAMI-LEE ROSS: Ah Phil Goff says that it is a powder puff bill. Phil Goff did not do enough in his time in Government to deal with gangs. He has left it to us. We are seeing some good changes here. We are seeing a bill that will seriously deal to gangs that will dent their ability to intimidate people and that will dent their ability to go to schools and show schoolkids what it is like to be a criminal.We support New Zealanders. We do not support gangs. Our friends in the Opposition might like to do that but they are absolutely wrong. New Zealanders are backing this bill.