March 06, 2024
Marae exempt from gang patch ban
Police Minister Mark Mitchell says marae will be excluded from a new law banning the wearing of gang patches or insignia in public spaces.
He says how Māori wish to run marae is their own business.
“It’s private property, it’s marae and iwi property, and they’re quite entitled to decide who and what the dress code is and what people wear on the marae,” Mr Mitchell says.
In certain circumstance police can already enter marae without a warrant under the Search and Surveillance Act 2012.
Meanwhile, Tamaki Makaurau MP Tarsh Kemp says a gang patch ban will cause more strife in communities and add to the already significant police workload.
The former Manurewa Marae manager says gangs were always allowed to wear their korowai on the marae.
“We saw gang members as whanau. They need to access services like anybody else and we provided a safe place for them to access health care, the food banks, social services, housing support, and we also had a strong community relationship with the local leaders in our community,” Ms Kemp says.
She says dealing with people’s issues doesn’t mean you condone bad behaviour or criminality.