Lawyers, libertarians and Black Power speak against controversial gang patches ban
Wednesday, 24 April 2024
A diverse range of people turned up to lambaste the Government’s plan to ban gang patches and gatherings, sharing their concerns over six hours at select committee.
Ranging from criminal prosecutors to Black Power members, it was an unlikely gathering on Tuesday.
Throughout the day, a Black Power member switched through T-shirts to quiz parliamentarians about which of his shirts would be breaking the proposed law.
And a deaf Cantabrian pleaded with the MPs to bin the bill, saying it could risk the lives of deaf Kiwis and those who use sign language.
Amongst the condemnation, two supporters of the idea did speak to Parliament on Tuesday.
Former Whanganui mayor Michael Laws said banning gang patches worked well when he was a mayor, and Police Association president Chris Cahill delivered cautious support, albeit highlighting some “fish-hooks”.
The breakdown
Through the Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill, the Government planned to introduce four new powers to “crack down” on gangs:
Making it illegal to wear gang insignia in public.
Giving police powers to force suspected gang members to disperse.
Giving district courts powers to make “non-consorting orders”, so “specific gang offenders” cannot communicate for three years.
Making gang membership an aggravating factor at sentencing.
The gang insignia ban and restrictions on communication and congregation have raised significant human rights concerns because the Bill of Rights Act protects freedom of expression and association. These gang laws could be used against people who have not been convicted of another crime, creating their own offences.
Lawyers also said gang membership was already an aggravating factor in sentencing.
Who said what
Those against:
Kim Robinson, who is deaf, said he was assaulted by white power gang members when he was growing up in Christchurch. Back then, he said “the boot boys” didn’t wear gang patches - but rival gang members, from Māori and Pasifika gangs, did. He said they used to protect deaf students from being beaten by the “the boot boys”.
“A gang patch does not necessarily mean you are clearly demarcating whether you are from a gang,” he said, via a NZSL translator.
But Robinson had greater concerns, about his own safety if this bill progressed. He explained some gangs had adopted hand gestures as gang signs which were common - and carried completely different meaning - in NZSL.
If patches and insignia were banned, he expected “gang signs” to become a main identifier of gang members. Robinson showed the committee one sign which was already in use as a gang sign, but in sign language meant “I love you”.
“Imagine a world where we were attacked for using that sign in the wrong space,” he said.
'Overseas, deaf people have died as a result of this… I am concerned you will create a problem here in New Zealand. So I ask the committee to stop the bill to protect our community.“
The Law Society's Chris Macklin said the bill should be withdrawn and sent 'back to the drawing board'.
He and other lawyers, as well as the Free Speech Union, cast doubt on Government arguments that similar measures had been successful in Australia. He said the studies offshore showed in many cases gangs continued operating underground, and became harder to identify.
Civil liberties campaigner Thomas Beagle said this would “create a new class of New Zealanders with fewer rights”.
Pointing out the gang list could be changed fairly easily, he asked: 'Who will be the next group classified as a problem?“
“This bill is rotten right the way through. I am disappointed it has got this far in a rights-respecting nation,” he concluded.
Black Power member Eugene Ryder switched between T-shirts during his submission, wearing colourful shirts with logos and insignia. He quizzed MPs, asking them which of these was a gang logo. Government MPs refused to take part in the quiz, but Labour guessed it was the final blue one. But it was a trick question.
“It’s actually a criminal offence to bring gang regalia into Parliament. So none of these are,” he said.
While Ryder identifies as Black Power, he said he was not on the official gang register as he’d argued to remove his name from it. This showed, he said, the complexity of enforcing the proposed law.
Elizabeth Hall, of the Defence Lawyers Association, said the bill was “political rhetoric” which was “repugnant”.
“I appreciate promises were made under the 100 day change, but a mindful and mature Government must have the capacity to step back,” she said.
She predicted “a choking churn of litigation” of police brought prosecutions, which would “clog up” the justice system.
She said the Government was “misleading the New Zealand public“, as she argued judges already counted gang membership as an aggravating offence. And she said the public had been wrongly told that police would be able to effectively ban gang patches and gatherings, when in reality it would be ”unworkable“.
Those in favour:
Michael Laws, the former mayor of Whanganui who pushed for a localised gang patch ban, said it led to a decrease in gang membership in his region.
“Whanganui is where your evidence is to answer all the questions that have been posed,' he said.
'There was a 15% reduction in gang membership and gang association as a result of the bylaw, there were less gang-on-gang encounters.'
Laws said the reduction was due to people leaving gangs, and also leaving Whanganui.
The Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bill was a controversial measure. In 2011, the High Court ruled that the council’s bylaw to ban gang patches in public areas was unlawful, invalid and inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act.
Former National Party minister and Whanganui MP Chester Borrows, who helped the bill become law, said it had been ineffectual in practice.
New Zealand Police Association president Chris Cahill said police generally supported the Gang Bill, although it included “fishhooks” that should be ironed over.
He said it would be “unrealistic” to assume police would be able to go out and arrest hundreds of gang members if they did congregate or wear patches.
'It is probably not going to be implemented in the way many members of the public might be, and that needs to be understood,' he said.
What next?
When the Justice Committee finishes its report on the bill, Parliament would be called to vote to make it law.
The National Party campaigned on these changes.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith was flying to Europe on Tuesday, so could not be reached for comment. But a spokesperson said he had been clear in his intention to ban gang patches.