Worth Richard: Gangs and Organised Crime Bill — First Reading 
Worth Richard: Gangs and Organised Crime Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1114] 
Hon Dr RICHARD WORTH (Associate Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I am very pleased to support the Gangs and Organised Crime Bill in the House today. The National Government is not afraid to walk the talk and get tough on crime. What a curious speech we have just heard! Is the compelling proposition in the mind of the Hon Jim Anderton that we should outlaw alcohol? Is that where that argument might take him? New Zealanders deserve to feel safe in their homes and in their communities. I would say we listened for too long as the Labour administration talked the talk over gang violence. Its failure to walk the talk has allowed the P trade to flourish in New Zealand. 
The police have told us that the abuse of drugs is a factor in a substantial proportion of offending. The effects of course spread across many dimensions of our society with social economic and technological consequences. Those social costs include family breakdown relationship problems and neglect of children. The personal costs include methamphetamine-related psychosis psychological disorders and general cognitive damage. The cost to society has been cited by some in the alcohol and drug sector as a lost generation of P users whose dependence on and heavy use of methamphetamine has made them socially dysfunctional. That of course has led to many other problems that society is left to deal with. 
The rise in methamphetamine and associated offending presents a significant challenge for the police with the discovery of more clandestine laboratories each year and offenders committing crimes to feed their addiction. In 2007 just under 75 percent of clandestine drug laboratories were identified by the police as being linked to recognised criminal gangs. I guess there are those who naively believe that New Zealand gangs will eventually self-destruct through their exposure to methamphetamine and P or that senior members may actively discourage their own offspring from following in their footsteps but the reality is that for every gang member who leaves there are many disenfranchised and alienated youths ready to take up the colours. 
Our police officers deserve to have effective tools to fight this scourge on our society. As we saw only too clearly last year undercover police work is dangerous. These legislative changes will expand police surveillance powers in respect of gang communications. The changes will also introduce tougher penalties for membership of a criminal gang and provide greater powers to remove gang fortifications. Amending the Sentencing Act will ensure that it will be considered an aggravating factor when an offender has committed an offence wholly or partly because of his or her participation in an organised criminal group. An amendment to the Local Government Act 2002 will enable a District Court to order the removal of gang fortifications. 
Unlike what the previous speaker has said these are practical specific and measurable initiatives designed to achieve results and National is happy to be measured on that basis. New Zealanders deserve to feel safe in their homes and communities and our Government is wasting no time to walk the talk and look after them.