Call for stronger Gang Laws

Independent MP Gordon Copeland has responded to news that an Australian state is to ratchet up their war on gangs.

South Australian Premier Mike Rann’s announced their anti gang strategies would include declaring gangs illegal and confiscating their assets. Mr Copeland said as leader of the Future New Zealand Party, that New Zealand should follow that lead. “Too often we hear that such laws aren’t practical, yet the Australians are implementing them. They shouldn’t be consigned to the too hard basket.”

He said his vision was to achieve a drug and gang free society. “Why not lift our sights to that level? We seek high goals in other areas, let’s do the same to a problem that is decimating this country.”

He has reliable sources within the police who shared his views that stronger legislation would help enforcement, not hinder it. “I have been told that police could fix the gang problem if they had stronger laws.” He was told that the level of organised crime by gangs was reaching a new level. “The different gangs are now cooperating, forgetting their differences, to achieve their business marketing goals on such drugs as ‘P’.” The gangs were pushing ‘P’ onto much younger users including intermediate school students.

At his party’s inaugural conference in the weekend in Tauranga Mr Copeland told delegates that anti terrorism laws needed to be strong because they were designed to detect acts of terror before they occurred. He saw no reason why those same laws could not be applied to gangs. “The gangs are terrorizing neighborhoods and society as a whole.” He said gangs also have a leadership structure that is no different to a terrorist organisation.

Mr Copeland said the Australian Government were taking a lead from the South Australian initiative. Australian Police Minister Paul Hannoway said he was calling for a national and even a Commonwealth approach, following the South Australian announcement

ENDS

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