February 27, 2024
Gang law language of the coloniser
A social worker who’s worked with the Mongrel Mob for decades says the Government’s proposed anti-gang laws are a distraction to the real issues being faced by communities.
Harry Tam says the statute books are littered with anti-gang laws going back to the 1970s, which police will use like new toys and then discard because they’re ineffective.
He says the Government parties got into office by playing on fears about crime, but they’re unable or unwilling to look at the causes.
“They don’t listen to science. They don’t listen to research. They just do it. Why? Because they have the power. It’s the language of the coloniser – ‘I have power and I will do what I want to do regardless of whether it’s the right thing, regardless of whether it’s sensible, regardless what science says,'” Mr Tam says.
He says the Government claims to be concerned about the future for young people and then hands over health policy to the tobacco companies and environmental protection to the mining industry.