Mark Ron: General Debate 
Mark Ron: General Debate 
[Volume:648;Page:16905] 
RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 Can I take a moment to congratulate my whanaunga my extended whanaunga from Ngati Raukawa and Te Arawa on today’s great achievement. I say: “Congratulations whanau; well done!”. I take the opportunity also to reinforce my colleague’s comments about a person whom I have often described as the Uriah Heep of the New Zealand Parliament—that is the Hon Tony Ryall. I say that for all of those same reasons that Mr Shane Jones just recounted to the House. One of the most despicable things that I can ever think of is that one would be a partner of a person and would feed information and intelligence from his Government to his opponents in order to bring down Tukoroirangi Morgan and Tau Henare. The Uriah Heep of the New Zealand Parliament needs to be recognised for what he is. I say: “Trust him—sure can’t.” 
It is interesting that once again in recent weeks we have had the scourge of gangs emerging back on our streets. It did not go unnoticed by New Zealand First that down in the deep dark south an Invercargill Mongrel Mob leader made the headlines by telling the nation that he had turned a corner changed his life and sought to steer his gang away from crime; the gang had sought to give up their weapons and give up their ways of violence. But within a week he was back in the headlines. In fact he is under arrest and behind bars and is facing allegations of arson and the same old criminal goings-on that have brought Maori into disrepute for generations. It is interesting because I have heard people in this House say: “Oh the Mongrel Mob are turning round their ways.” In fact I have been out at Silverstream to a State-funded celebration which happens every year courtesy of Government funding and Kim Workman from the Prison Fellowship is there. They line up the Mongrel Mob complete with their patches and tell us they have changed their ways. Tell that to Hastings tell that to Flaxmere and tell that to Invercargill. 
Over the last few days members will have heard New Zealand First ask the Minister a few simple questions in the House. We have asked how many patched gang members their affiliates and their associates exist in this country. The Minister tells us it is 3000 to 3500. That is interesting because a former Minister George Hawkins told this House there were 10000 in 1995 and 21882 in 2002. So what are they saying? Have the numbers gone down? We do not think so. Why is that of concern to New Zealand First? It is of concern because to deal with the problem we first have to accept we have one. We cannot reform alcoholics if they do not say: “I am an alcoholic.” We cannot change the face of gangs in this nation and the turmoil the gangs unleash on us and the impact they have on our children by feeding them dope and P if we do not admit to how many there are. Detective Inspector Patrick Boyle of the Asian Squad and the Casino Squad in Victoria Police in 2005 reported to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia: “One of the factors that pose the greatest barrier to successfully addressing a gang problem is the denial of gang presence.” I would add to that—“or the minimising of the size extent and impact that that presence has in your community”. If we fail to do that we condemn ourselves to the future that the gangs dictate. We condemn our current children our current grandchildren and our future great-grandchildren to the same scourge and the same impact. We then watch them as they all get flushed down the toilet as well. 
It is interesting and poignant right now because today’s settlement marks a new step forward for many Maori and the only thing that holds us back is those primeval Neanderthals in our presence who destroy our mana destroy our reputation and take the legacy of our tupuna and spit upon it by consistently and continually attacking us and the wider New Zealand the way they do. It is time this House and it is time this Government accepted that we have a huge problem. The Police Association said on television last week that police believe that there are 6000 members of gangs. They believe that each one of them has five to 10 associates. They believe that the problem is not 3000; it is 60000—the size of Napier! 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: What’s your solution? 
RON MARK 
: I tell Dr Wayne Mapp what New Zealand First will do. We have told him that for 12 years but he has wax in his ears. Actually he just does not want to know because it is too hard; it is too tough. He and his Government failed for generations despite all the hard talk and despite all their ranting now. New Zealand First says that the first step is to make the issue a priority. We must lead from the top and separate the issue out from policing. We must make sure that we pass legislation to make it illegal to be a member of a gang. Do not tell me what the wannabe National Party is going to do.