Willis NicolaNICOLA WILLIS (National): The National Party thinks gang members should not have guns. It's a pretty simple position but it's one that members opposite are finding very troubling and very complex and very difficult. Well we stand on this side of the House in proud support of Simeon Brown's bill that would prevent the most dangerous gang members in New Zealand from accessing firearms and that is a really simple position to take because it's our view that we should prevent gang members from using guns to harm other New Zealanders. But members opposite—they seem to take a different view. I want to congratulate Simeon Brown the member for Pakuranga for bringing this bill to Parliament. It is a necessary piece of legislation. It is something that has been held up for many years by this Government despite a strong recommendation in 2017 that something like this needed to happen and Simeon Brown has been tenacious in his advocacy for it. Unlike members opposite he has not bowed down and cowered to gang members despite facing death threats from them. He has said no. Gangs seek to perpetuate violence and to harm other New Zealanders and we in the National Party won't stand for it because we stand for safe communities and we stand for upholding law and order. We actually also stand for the police having the tools they need to do their job having the tools they need to enforce the law and what this bill provides is an extra tool for the police by giving the Commissioner of Police the power to issue a firearms prohibition order against any gang member who in the past 10 years has been convicted of a serious violence offence. That is a tool that the police deserve and that they need to crack down on some of our community's worst offenders. Now I just want to talk briefly about what gangs are because there's been a very philosophical discussion on the other side of the House about the virtues of gangs and I want to remind people listening—Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: Nicola that's not true. NICOLA WILLIS: Oh Ayesha Verrall says No that's not true. We haven't spoken of the virtue of gangs." Well she needs to go back and listen to Duncan Webb equating people in poverty with people in gangs and saying that those are the conditions that lead to gang membership. Well Duncan Webb should treat people in poverty with more respect because just because you're poor it doesn't mean you think you need to commit crime to get ahead. Actually the vast majority of people in limited material circumstances don't resort to crime and meth dealing and rape and assault and murder in order to further their own material circumstances. That's actually what gangs do and to equate that behaviour with poverty is wrong and we do not support it. Gangs are organisations that exist for the purpose of using criminal activity for material gain. They use weapons and violence to intimidate and harm other New Zealanders. I want to read to particularly the Labour Party members in the House tonight some headlines that really give you a sense of what gangs have been up to in our community lately. These are just headlines by the way from this year: "Brutal Christchurch murder: Mongrel Mob associates jailed one for life after 'callous' fatal hammer and knife attack" "Pair become 'cold and ruthless killers' after involvement with the Mongrel Mob" "The day a Mongrel Mob member opened fire on a cop hit a taxi driver and carjacked two vehicles" "Guns bombs and ammo found at gang pad 'for protection' " "Patched Mongrel Mob members arrested on meth charges in Hamilton" "Name suppression lifts for senior Waikato Mongrel Mob leader on drug charges"—and these are the people that members opposite want to cuddle up to and do a bit of "Kumbaya" with. Well we don't want to do that on this side of the House. You would believe from the rhetoric opposite and particularly actually I would say from Julie Anne Genter whose contribution was to say that those who speak out against gangs are dog-whistling and racist—well actually what she needs to remember is that these people described in these headlines are criminals and we do not support them. The numbers of gang members in fact have increased more than 50 percent under Labour so the cuddling up approach isn't working is it? We're not seeing fewer of them; we are seeing more of them. I want to turn now to what this bill does because it does things that are very practical very pragmatic and very sensible. It allows police to issue a firearms prohibition order against any gang member who in the past 10 years has been convicted of a serious violence offence an offence under the domestic violence Act or a firearms offence. Pretty sensible—I mean why should someone who's done that be able to get access to a gun? It does this to ensure they don't get access to guns it revokes firearms licences and it also extends that power so that those who seek to become a gang member are also prevented from accessing guns. For those who have had a firearms prohibition order served against them it makes it a crime for them to access firearms or to visit places with guns. It also makes it an offence to knowingly supply someone with a gun knowing that they have a firearms prohibition notice against them and it provides the police with warrantless search powers so that they can practically enforce this law by searching for guns where they believe they are on premises where there's someone with a firearms prohibition order against them. Now I want to particularly acknowledge the contribution of the Police Association in making this a better piece of law. They submitted to the Justice Committee on this. They made recommendations particularly about these search powers and Simeon Brown has been very careful to incorporate those amendments into this bill. But the members opposite they would ignore the Police Association. They would ignore the people on the front line whose job it is to deal with these thugs. Well National listens to them. We believe that they deserve the tools they need to do their job. I just want to ask a couple of questions one of which is: when members opposite talk about the fact that Labour really truly seriously wants to do something about this and that it's coming soon when is soon? I know Kris Faafoi has a very wide definition of the word "soon". He uses it every time Erica Stanford asks a question about immigration—"Soon soon." But I'd be really interested to know what "soon" means given members opposite have been promising they would do something about this for years including most recently the Minister of Police Poto Williams announcing in May that she would be doing something. Well if members are so keen to do something then what should happen is that they should adopt this bill that Simeon Brown has put forward in good faith. But as my colleague the Hon Simon Bridges has said the reason they won't do that—the reason they're not interested—is that they are putting politics ahead of the safety of our community and ahead of the needs of our police to have tools to enforce the law and they are siding with the gangs rather than siding with the safety of New Zealanders. So we oppose this bill. We believe that gangs—Hon Member: You oppose it—what? NICOLA WILLIS: —do no good in our communities and we—Hon Member: Hang on! NICOLA WILLIS: Well OK. So the members opposite think gangs do good in communities. So was that the Mongrel Mob member who was jailed for the fatal hammer attack or was that the one who opened fire on a cop hit a taxi driver and carjacked the vehicle? We don't think these are good things and when people like that have access to guns more harm can be done. So we don't want to see gangs being able to do that. That's why Simeon Brown has put forward this excellent piece of legislation and it is my pleasure to support it."