“Terrorist” Gangs Giant Election Red Herring
“The Union representing Fishery Officers says the electorate is being distracted by a giant red herring with political
talk of gangs being defined as terrorist organisations,” said Martin Cooney, Organiser of the National Union of Public
Employees (NUPE) today. “Gangs are plainly not terrorist organisations. However, a number of gang members are involved
in organised criminal enterprises. The real issue is aiding compliance staff in getting them to comply with current
laws.”
“One of the most likely persons to stumble across a gang member involved in organised illicit activity is a Fishery
Officer scouting New Zealand’s 15,000 km of coast line for paua poachers or coming across higher level dealers
on-selling paua in NZ and overseas.”
“When a fishery officer does come across a gang member in an unplanned situation it is an uneven contest,” said Martin
Cooney. “These are not recreational paua collectors who got greedy. They are seasoned criminals working as a poaching
ring and with backup and weapons available. Often they are involved in other criminal activities and have a high
incentive to resist arrest.”
“If the politicians genuinely want to deal with gangs, they must rebalance this situation. They need to allow Fishery
Officers to carry retractable batons and pepper spray to deal with such poachers in all areas of the coast and to
extricate themselves safely from threatening situations.”
“Previous estimates of the number of organised paua poaching rings in NZ have put the number at 70 in a $50m a year
black market industry,” said Martin Cooney. “Given that there are only about 100 front line Fishery Officers, employed
by the Ministry of Fisheries, the odds are already against the Officers being able to protect themselves let alone our
paua stocks.”
ends