The reactionary Right are screaming race war when all we want is an explanation from the Minister as to why dismantling 7AA is the best way to keep our most vulnerable kids safe, because remember THAT is what actually matters here, keeping our most vulnerable kids safe.

I respect Karen.

To overcome the trauma she suffered at the hands the State, and to then become Minister of the very State Department that hurt you is a remarkable journey no matter her politics.

Her voice as a person damaged by that State is powerful and always worth consideration.

HOWEVER.

7AA remains an important direction for OT in terms of newly uplifted Māori babies. Like many colonised nations, we have an appalling lost generation history of indigenous babies, ACT are the first to demand decentralisation – why not keep 7AA and direct those newly uplifted Māori babies into Iwi or Māori community groups?

Is ACT actually interested in a solution here or just want to keep using Māori as a political punching bag?

One of the reasons OT was created was because National argued that CYFs, the old system, had a higher statistical risk of children being abused in state care than when left in the community!

How. Do. We. Protect. The. Most. Vulnerable. Kids. In. State. Care!

The problem with the Right’s Social Investment model is that it demands immediate uplifts to save the state money downstream, OT will be pushing for more uplifts without notice not fewer, and they will be delivering those babies to foster families.

The inevitable uplifts will make their way to social media and this Government will be forced to back down again because Kiwis won’t accept Māori babies being taken out of the arms of their mothers!

Oranga Tamariki is a brownwashed under resourced neoliberal experiment in welfare aimed at saving the State money down stream while minimising legal liability, it sure as Christ doesn’t have the interests of the child at heart.

How are children in State care going to be safer after removing 7AA?

The mechanics of how to facilitate the large jump in uplifts has been eclipsed by the fight between the Executive and the Waitangi Tribunal, meaning that this has become an ego fight between different branches of the political body rather than any focus on these vulnerable kids who are getting abused in State care!

Instead of defending why Karen Chhour isn’t giving evidence, what about protecting these kids being abused in State care!

This whole fiasco is a pissing competition while kids in State care get abused.

We should all be embarrassed at how this has played out.

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Ummmmmm.

What the actual?

Police wanted significant new search powers as part of gang patch crackdown

Newshub can reveal police wanted significant new search and seizure powers to make the Government’s gang patch crackdown effective.

They include the ability for officers to search the properties and vehicles of anyone suspected of displaying gang insignia for up to seven days.

The powers aren’t found in the new legislation and police wouldn’t say if they’d still like the Government to pursue them.

The cops wanted what now?

Police said they required “an additional power of search and seizure that relates to all gang paraphernalia (which could be used in a subsequent offence) rather than only paraphernalia which was displayed publicly in non-compliance with the ban”.   

It was argued that would allow police to gather information at a later point with appropriate planning.   

“Police therefore consider that, regardless of whether a charge has been filed or the specific publicly displayed paraphernalia seized, a person suspected of displaying gang insignia in public should be subject to the following activity for a period of seven days following the alleged offending.”  

The document then lists “searches of their property (owned and occupied) or vehicles (owned and used), as well as more seizure powers.   

“Seizure of any and all gang paraphernalia found at or in the property or vehicle regardless of ownership, with no need to prove the gang insignia belongs to the alleged offender. Any insignia found in these places, regardless of ownership, will be subject to seizure.”   

Jesus wept this is such a spastic knee-jerk police state over reach!

The Police would have vast 7 day window to stop and search anyone suspected of a gang insignia – seeing as a colour can technically be gang insignia, that’s anyone who might have worn red or blue in public???

This whole gang patch ban is stupid enough as it is, allowing Police extraordinary stop and search powers for a week after being a suspect is quite an extraordinary over reach of police power.

This is the true danger of this Government, they are so ideologically driven they don’t care their foaming mouthed promises of revenge during the election make things worse…

Government ignores official advice gang crackdown could backfire, increase membership

The government’s gang crackdown could backfire, driving up rates of gang membership, increasing domestic violence and making it harder to exit gangs, according to expert advice from justice officials.

The government is expected to today introduce legislation banning gang patches in public, limiting freedom of association and imposing harsher sentences for crimes, regardless of whether the crime is linked to being in a gang.

…When even Judith Collins tells you the Gang Patch Ban goes against Bill of Rights you know we are in trouble…

Gang patch ban inconsistent with rights — Attorney-General

The Government’s move to prohibit gang patches in public places would be inconsistent with the rights to expression, association and peaceful assembly, a report by the Attorney-General Judith Collins has found.

…when even Damien Grant can see Gang Patch Bans won’t work…

‘The state should not tell anyone what to wear,’ writes Damien Grant

My position is more fundamental; the state should not be telling some of the worst members of our society what to wear because the state should not tell anyone what to wear.

..when two right wing idealogical vultures like Damien and Judith agree on State over reach, you fucking know the State has over reached!

Here’s my fear with National’s crackdown on Gangs.

The first is that they won’t work.

Banning Patches in public, using dispersion powers, implementing non association orders and increased powers for warrantless searches all sound tough to a public who are frightened and tired and resentful of feeling intimidated but won’t do a bloody thing in terms of curtailing Gangs because it fundamentally misses why there has been a jump in gangs  and gang violence in the first place.

More of that in a moment.

The second thing I fear is that it starts feeling like persecution.

I know.

You are laughing. You don’t care if Gangs feel persecuted by the Police.

“Great”, you will scream, and all laugh at how I’ve managed to sound woker than woke.

“Bomber fears the Gangs will feel persecuted’ you laugh.

Hear me out.

When you start abusing the power of the State in the manner we are all cheering for against the Gangs you risk radicalising criminals and that is the last fucking thing you want to do in any country!

Look at how the radicalisation of the Parliament Lawn Protestors has metastasized into the dangerous cocktail of resentment that has become.

Imagine putting those pressures on violent organised criminals.

Of course organised crime needs to be challenged at all times by the Police, but what we are doing here is implementing bumper sticker policy that will only cause counter productive outcomes as opposed to smarter Policing.

Hand on heart I don’t think National MPs could tell you what is the difference between the Mongrel Mob, Mongols, Head Hunters, Black Power or Comancheros and that’s deeply concerning because they all have completely different reasons for existence and attempting to tackle the most glaringly apparent elements of gangs with laws that breach human rights will only radicalize those communities.

The problem we have right now with gangs is the unprecedented forced deportation of the 501 criminal elements from Australia who have unleashed a tsunami of violent gang take overs because they are prepared to use a level of violence and sophistication far in advance  of the domestic gangs.

These 501 syndicates are using their contacts with South American Cartels to import a purer, cheaper Meth and it is this turf war for the Meth trade that is shaping the current violence.

Police gaining powers to harass and intimidate the poorest members of this crime pyramid with powers that breach human rights will only radicalise that community.

Look at this.

…what that arsehole Simeon Brown never points out is that the $2.75million given to the Mongrel Mob came from the proceeds of crime fund! It wasn’t taxpayer money, it was the proceeds of crime that was paying for drug rehabilitation programmes because that is how you move the community Gangs like Black Power and Mongrel Mob away from crime.

This is the exact type of programmes you want to run.

Where the Gang Intelligence should be focused is on the 501 syndicates because their connection to South American Cartels is legitimately destabilising and dangerous.

Nothing National are suggesting has any connection to reality beyond ZB talking points.

Back to the Gang Patches ban in public.

Patched members are never allowed to hand over their patch so Police will need to beat the gang member unconscious to remove the patch.

When the next Gang tangi occurs after the patch ban, Luxon will have to demand the Police go in and take the patches which will require a heavily armed Police response that will immediately deteriorate into a shoot out.

Can Luxon demand that? Of course he can’t!

The Police Commissioner will tell Mark Mitchell and the PM to go fuck themselves when they demand that they move in because this is a liberal progressive democracy and the Police don’t do the bidding of the politicians!

No Police Commissioner in their right mind would risk that many Police Officers to take patches off gang members at a bloody funeral!

As the impotency of National’s gang patch ban gets highlighted and as their increased Police powers start to get challenged in Court as a breach of human rights, an increasingly frustrated National will start seeking more and more extreme measures in a never ending pissing competition led by hard men like Mark Mitchell and Simeon Brown against da gangs.

If NZ First get to designate gangs as domestic terrorists we are just in uncharted crazy land.

We don’t need harder policing, we need smarter policing because this cavalcade of tough on crime short on facts crap is going to cause far more damaging blowback.

The cops attempting to sneak a radical interpretation of stop and search powers for a week is the piss icing on top of a shit cake.

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