Goudie Sandra: Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bill — Second Reading 
Goudie Sandra: Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1646] 
SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) 
: 
 I am delighted to rise and follow my most excellent colleague Chester Borrows who makes a huge contribution to this Parliament and supports the Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bill which is a local bill. I recently had the pleasure of my brother and his wife visiting and staying with us for a few weeks from New York where they currently live. They were telling me how former Mayor Giuliani of New York put a peg in the ground and took a stand of a zero tolerance approach. Now my brother is able to walk the streets of New York at night without being afraid for his life. People can now comfortably walk the streets of New York because of the zero tolerance approach taken by Mayor Giuliani. I applaud Mayor Michael Laws who has also finally put a peg in the ground and taken a zero tolerance approach. He is promoting this local bill and I say good on him. He is supported by the majority of his constituents and his council. They are saying that enough is enough and they are putting a peg in the ground; hence this bill and rightly so. 
You know there may be some problems with the bill but we do not get anywhere by just sitting on the fence and not taking a stand. This is sending a signal; it is taking a stand. Liquor bans have worked up and down the country. A lot of councils are adopting liquor bans because they work and likewise will the prohibition of gang insignia. The problem with this is that there is not a schedule whereby other councils could add their names to this bill so that they can also become part of the process. Then they could adopt the provisions of this legislation and say that they likewise are going to be a council that will ban gang insignia in specified areas in their community. I am sure that there will be a number of other councils watching the progress and implementation of this bill to see how it works and they may then call for the ability to include themselves in the provisions of this bill. 
Let us face it: communities are calling out for this. They want this and they do not want to be caught in gang crossfire. Members of communities want to be able to go to places where they will not feel intimidated or threatened by people who are wearing insignia and whose behaviour is unacceptable. The very wearing of insignia can be quite intimidating and I do not think anyone would disagree with that. I would like to see somebody stand up and try to disagree with that. Wanganui’s Mayor Michael Laws was absolutely incensed at the murder of Jhia Te Tua by three patched Mongrel Mob members. It was the death of a child caught in the crossfire that had such a huge impact on him and his community. There are gangs throughout New Zealand but they congregate in some places more than others and Wanganui is one of those places. 
Hon Tariana Turia 
: What a joke; it is not. 
SANDRA GOUDIE: 
 Well if the member would like to take a call she can give us the facts of the matter as she sees it; that would be fine. Gang members are prevented from wearing gang patches in some public places including courts police stations petrol stations hotels and clubs. For the same reason the Wanganui District Council wants to ban them in city centres and in some parks. Why should it not be able to do that? This legislation is part of the council wanting to control what goes on in communities so that people can walk around and participate in community activities without being intimidated without being afraid and without being caught in the crossfire as has already occurred. 
The council can make a bylaw identifying a gang only if as stated in clause 5(3)(a) it is identified by a common name or symbol and (b) “its members associates or supporters individually or collectively promote encourage or engage in a pattern of criminal activity.” The penalty for wearing the insignia in prohibited places is a $2000 fine and seizure and forfeiture of the insignia. In clause 4(1) gang insignia (a) “means a sign symbol or representation commonly displayed to denote membership of and affiliation with or support for a gang; and (b) includes any items of clothing to which a sign symbol or representation … is attached”. Yes this could be problematic but on the whole I think the bill once enacted will serve the community well. In spite of the fact that gang patches are not to be worn when going to court to the police station or to petrol stations I am sure that most members would be aware that still does happen. 
The purpose of the bill stated in clause 3 is “to prohibit the display of gang insignia in specified places” in the district of Wanganui District Council. But as I have said I think other councils will be watching with interest and they may like to have the opportunity to do the same. Members of the public up and down the country have expressed some fear in having patched gang members in neighbourhoods shopping centres parks and central business districts and the Wanganui District Council is just one of those places. It was the council working in conjunction with the local police that thought it was appropriate that this be done by way of a local bill. It is a very worthy cause to promote. I think this is perhaps just the beginning and it will not be perfect. Nobody expects everything to be perfect but it is still a step in the right direction and the Wanganui police are doing a great job policing gang activities in the wake of the Jhia Tutua tragedy. However when the public spotlight is removed the police will not have the resources to continue to police gangs with necessarily the same intensity. 
The police are supporting this legislation. Police National Headquarters the police legal section and the Police Association have all looked at the legislation and it is another tool in the toolbox as Chester Borrows rightly said. It is another tool in the toolbox and I think it is absolutely a very sensible tool. Liquor bans have been a very sensible tool in the toolbox and have made a huge difference in the behaviour of peoples and communities. Liquor bans have been hugely successful and they have brought families back into our communities and our holiday places because families no longer have to contend with drunken youths who make them feel threatened. This is the same. If people start to feel that they have some form of protection they are not going to feel intimidated by people misbehaving or by being intimidating through what they are wearing and the way they are behaving. It is going to give a huge amount of confidence to people in our communities. A young couple Stephen Hurley and Clare Lawler felt that for the safety of them and their family they preferred to move out of Wanganui. We will not get that type of fear from people and young families. They will stay in communities. They will feel safe. They will make such a difference to the thriving and dynamic places that Wanganui has to offer.