Jones Shane: Gangs and Organised Crime Bill — In Committee 
Jones Shane: Gangs and Organised Crime Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:658;Page:7509] 
Hon SHANE JONES (Labour) 
: 
 Kia ora Mr Chairperson. Without a sliver of doubt I will enjoy supporting the Gangs and Organised Crime Bill. Unfortunately it is said too rarely that some of the greatest victims of gangs in my part of the world are the very people who are related to members of gangs. 
Although we have to be mindful that the police have to respect the bounds of the law—we have to have confidence for example in the ability of a judge to ascertain that the information being put before him or her is satisfactory—we should be under no illusion: when looking at gangs we see the worst of human nature. They are hugely well resourced and well organised. To those people who suffer some anxiety from time to time as to whether in our pursuit of gang criminality we are turning parts of our system into something that is aping a police State I say that if they were to fall into the clutches of a gang they would find that it made the police State look like a kindergarten. Gangs know no bounds. If people move into their business and threaten their existence then not only will they menace and threaten them and their children but also they will kill them. If members have any doubts then they should talk to the grieving families in Murupara. 
Let us take the gloves off here. This measure is the way that the deep menacing forces behind the dunderheads who run around wearing jackets and blazers with “Black Power” and other filth written on their backs can be dealt to. Interception warrants which at the end of the day presumably have to pass muster with a judge who is seized of all the information are not a bad thing. It is unfortunate that Dr Sharples is not here because when we deal with crimes associated with gangs we are dealing with organisations. We are not dealing with random events. We are not dealing with people who have had a wee bit too much to drink or who have been smoking dope or popping pills. We are dealing with well-oiled highly armed organisations. They have not one iota of respect for Parliament. They giggle mock and laugh if one ever asks them to contribute something to honour the legacy of the men and women who are memorialised in this Chamber. 
We need to get with the game plan. Gang members do not want to be a part of civil society. That is why I have not a sliver of doubt about the wisdom of supporting legislation that gives better powers and forces to those whom we trust to keep us safe because rest assured gangs do not want people to be safe. Gangs want people to be scared they want them to be fearful they want them to be constantly coughing up dough through their kids being addicted and they want their women to be afraid. People become so indifferent to life that they start slowly but surely to give up until such time when they are forced to begin to arm themselves to make themselves feel safe. That is the reality in large parts of the north which is where I come from. 
That is why I am sad that Dr Sharples is not here today. For those of us who are of Maori descent this bill is important. Not all gangs are Maori but they are disproportionately full of our young people and some of our people who are old fat and corpulent but still very violent. Dr Sharples has to stop believing that simply by holding wananga and hui we will get those people to change their lifestyles. Those leopards have deep-etched spots that ain’t going to change. The only way that those people will change is when they putrefy in the earth. Let us hope that not too many victims go through that process before we put the gang members where they belong: out of our sight and out of our lives. 
If this expansion of powers causes that to come to pass a poll taken tomorrow would show that a vast number of New Zealanders would be happy about it—although they might not feel proud that it is a feature of our modern society. People in gangs are driven by forces that are well fuelled and well funded. They do not want to join with the rest of us in terms of looking for markets jobs and new growth opportunities. They want to get rich on Easy Street and they want to come north and they do. That is why Part 1—and I acknowledge the sensibilities of some members of the Committee in relation to expansion of the State’s powers—needs to be supported.