Mitchell Mark: Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMitchell Mark: Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 10 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:11884. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MARK MITCHELL (National—Rodney):I will just take this opportunity to respond to some of the issues that have been raised by the Opposition. I want to come back to MrTirikatene’s speech and state very clearly—and I share my colleague MikeSabin’s concern—that I think Kiwis are all a bit over having race introduced into these types of arguments. This bill the Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Bill relates to Asian Triads it relates to the Mongrel Mob and it relates to the Hell’s Angels. If your friends want to wear leather jackets—I enjoy and I am sure all of us in this House sometimes enjoy going biking like Mr Sabin was saying and wearing a leather jacket—there is nothing wrong with that Mr Tirikatene. They can do that. But if they choose to put a Mongrel Mob patch or a Black Power patch on it they are going tohave to remove it take it off when they go into a school or a Government building. It is as simple as that.How do people qualify? How do people get membership to this club? If its members associates or supporters individually or collectively promote encourage or engage in criminal activity then they will find that they have their gang patches registered on the schedule. That is how you get membership.In terms of police leadership and whether or not this bill is actually going to have a real effect and give the police another effective tool to use in their fight against organised crime and gangs the clear answer to that is yes. The great thing to see about our police service at the moment is that it has got very strong leadership in the Police Commissioner Peter Marshall and his two deputies Mike Bush andViv Rickard. Sadly for a long time in my own personal opinion I feel that our police service lacked some strong leadership. Thankfully now they have it.The feedback from the Police Association and the police is that this is a very good bill and it is going to provide them with a very effective tool to be able to take action and apply pressure put pressure on the gangs in New Zealand.It is not a waste of time. I am a bit disappointed to hear Mr Cunliffe say that. In fact most of New Zealand really does not know at the moment what the Labour Party stands for and this is a great opportunity for those members to put a stake in the ground and say: “You know what? We are going to be strong on law and order and we are going to support this bill.” Wishful thinking. I do not think we are going to see that happen.Mr Cunliffe said that Mr Sabin stood up and wasted $35000 of taxpayers’ money. Actually he has every right to get up and speak in this House. That is why he was elected as the representative for Northland in 2011. He has a big history in having to deal with and see the carnage and the victims associated with gangs. He was recognised by the Sir Peter Blake Trust for providing leadership in this area so he knows what he is talking about. My point there is this: Mr Cunliffe talked about $35000. Do you know what? That pales in comparison with what gangs and gang activity and criminals and organised crime sponsored by gangs cost the taxpayer and cost this country every year. I want everyone to think about that and reflect on that as well.He is right. This bill is not the panacea and I have said myself that this is not the panacea but this is one very important part of giving our police a tool to be able to take action against gangs. Are the nurses in the accident and emergency departments going to want to be too bothered about having to ask gang members to remove their gang patches? I visited North Shore Hospital recently and I can assure you that the nursing staff there the sisters and the doctors are certainly no shrinking violets. They are more than happy to do whatever they have to do to provide a good environment for the patients and the people in their care. But the beauty of this bill is that they do not have to tell a gang member to remove a patch. This bill allows for the police to come in and do that and remove any tension that may be created between nursing staff or medical staff and a gang-patched member bringing in a child for treatment. That really is in response to the issue that Miss Ardern raised. I hope that that has clarified some of the points that have been raised by the Opposition. Thank you.