Cosgrove Clayton: Gangs and Organised Crime Bill — In Committee 
Cosgrove Clayton: Gangs and Organised Crime Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:658;Page:7524] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 I will not take too much of the Committee’s time over what is a pretty simple debate on the title clause of the Gangs and Organised Crime Bill. I think the title is germane. The only question I would raise with the Minister in the chair the Associate Minister of Justice Nathan Guy who has failed throughout the Committee stage to address this question at all is one of resources. I ask whether this legislation should be called the “Gangs and Organised Crime (But Do the Police Have the Resources to Do It?) Bill”. Equally one could ask the Maori Party whether it has dropped the ball on this legislation. As I said in my speech a few moments ago I fail to see how anyone can preach in this place about “taking the fight” out to the communities then sell out the communities by saying it is up to them to get the gangs off the marae and out of the square and to take the patches off the gangs without backing the communities through legislation. The question before the Maori Party is why it is voting against this legislation. 
The Associate Minister makes a good point in that the debate has centred around gangs. They are the most visible if you will element of organised crime in our communities. They wear the patches and are pretty naked in terms of their criminal ambition but we know that there are criminals who wear expensive suits. There are criminals who shun any disinfectant in terms of the light of the law that might be put upon them. They do not want the profile; they want to get on with their activities. In fact I am told by some law enforcement officers that those criminals deal to anybody who might go off in a maverick way and commit violence. They deal to them quite heavily because they do not want the profile. They do not want the police taking any notice of them. They want to appear to be low profile and unthreatening. They do not have the huge gang fortifications. In some places I am told they live in some of the most posh suburbs of New Zealand. They do not want law enforcement having its eyes on them. There are tools within this legislation that will give the police and law enforcement eyes or ears on those criminals in terms of surveillance. 
It is worth noting as others have that organised crime is not confined just to what we might see when Television New Zealand does the “smash bash and crash” exposé as it does from time to time when something tragic happens because it is gang stuff. What we do not hear about because it does not have the graphic violence that can be splashed on the 6 o’clock news is the gang member or organised criminal in the suit who works behind the scenes but who is equally insidious because he or she is peddling drugs in a more sophisticated way. Those criminals do not have barbed wire up on the front fence. They may live in the leafy suburbs and we may not know exactly who they are but they are as insidious and despicable as anyone who wears a physical patch and tattoos whether they be white brown or any other colour or creed and who goes around in a physically menacing way and is visible around our communities. So we support this title. We hope the bill will be backed up by appropriate resources. 
We again ask why the Maori Party waves the white flag of surrender in here leaving it up to the folks back home to lead the charge against organised crime and does not support a bill that gives those communities the tools through law enforcement they need to back the kaumatua kuia and the organisations that are standing up and saying “Taihoa. We do not want these individuals here.” The question is why it is a case of lion in here and lamb out there. Why will the Maori Party not stand up and support this bill? Is it because the Maori Party has some sort of bizarre view as Mr Flavell has said and Mr Jones pointed out that these gang members and organised criminals are somehow “our people.”? Like hell they are. They are not our people and they should be run out of town. They should be run out of town by the Parliament. We should not leave it to the kaumatua kuia and others to do our bidding for us. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: I just make a comment here. I have been extremely tolerant. This is the debate on the title and commencement. The member went well beyond that and in a way he has incited responses. But this is the title and commencement debate.