Council to discuss gang patch ruling next week - Mayor

The entrance to the Wanganui District Council building. File photo / Wanganui Chronicle

Wanganui District Council is considering whether to appeal a High Court ruling that the city's gang patch ban is unlawful.

Mayor Annette Main said the council would discuss its options on Monday, these included accepting the decision, appealing it, or developing a new bylaw.

"It is likely that we will seek a full legal evaluation of the decision for discussion at a future meeting before making a decision on those options."

The Hells Angels gang sought a judicial review of the patch ban, arguing the bylaw - banning the wearing of gang insignia in public in Whanganui - was invalid.

Justice Denis Clifford, in a judgment released yesterday, said he had reached the same conclusion.

The bylaw did not specify which public places the ban applied, and was therefore invalid under national law, he said.

Ms Main said the Whanganui community would be disappointed if the council did nothing about the High Court decision.

"There is a widely held acceptance that this bylaw has decreased the evidence of gang activity.

"The police, I can't speak for them, but they have said to us before that they believe that this bylaw has worked and that gang activity has decreased."

Ms Main said the council could draft a new bylaw that would address Justice Clifford's ruling.

"The part of the bylaw that the High Court said was invalid relates to the specified public places it covers. If the bylaw had been more limited in the specified places, it would have been OK."

Wanganui district councillor Michael Laws, who was mayor when the bylaw was adopted in 2009, said the High Court was wrong and he would urge the council and police to appeal the decision.

"It will be for my council colleagues to choose which course they will adopt but the gang patch ban is here to stay."

The council has 20 working days to appeal the decision.

Te Taihauauru MP Tariana Turia said council officials should work towards finding solutions to gang issues, rather than focus on the clothes they wear.

"I have seen first hand the positive work that is being done by the gangs themselves in addressing the alcohol, drug and violence issues they are facing.

"The truth is that gang members don't need patches on their clothing to be intimidating - their behaviour is the issue."

Ms Turia said it was not the bylaw that sparked change in Whanganui, it was the gang's decision to address their problems.

"We must move from the tactics of suppression to strategies that create solutions."

- NZPA