Wairoa drafts gang patch ban law

Whanganui Mayor Annette Main. Photo / Whanganui Chronicle

Wairoa District council is drafting legislation to ban gang patches following two recent shootings in the town.

A 17-year-old Black Power member was shot in the chest outside the Mongrel Mob headquarters in Wairoa on October 25.

Four days later, a 48-year-old Mongrel Mob member was shot twice with a shotgun, once in the back and once in the side, while filling a vehicle with petrol at a service station on the town's main road.

The attack appeared to be in retaliation for the first shooting, police said.

The town's mayor, Les Probert, and local MP Chris Tremain met police last week to discuss the ongoing gang violence, and yesterday the council voted to establish a working party to draft a bill banning patches.

Council chief executive Peter Freeman told Hawke's Bay Today the idea of implementing a bylaw similar to the one passed by Wanganui's council last year had been brought up at several meetings.

"It would be reasonably simple to follow the Wanganui process and simply introduce the same bill replacing the word Wanganui with Wairoa - if that's what the town wanted," Mr Freeman said.

The bill would be presented to the public for consultation.

Meanwhile, police said today they were yet to make any arrests following the two shootings.

- NZPA