The Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Act 2009 was an Act of Parliament passed in New Zealand in 2009. It empowered the Wanganui District Council to ban gang insignia in specified areas within the district. It was repealed by the Gangs Act 2024, which includes a prohibition on the display of gang insignia in a public place across New Zealand.
Background
The bill was introduced in an effort to reduce gang violence in Whanganui. It empowers the Wanganui District Council to make bylaws prohibiting gang insignia in specified areas,Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Act 2009, section 5. which must be signposted.Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Act 2009, section 6. Those violating the bylaws face a fine of up to $2,000.Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Act 2009, section 12. The Act also grants police powers of arrest, search and seizure to aid in the enforcement of such bylaws.Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Act 2009, sections 13, 14.
Introduction and passage
The bill was introduced to the House on 22 November 2007 by National Party MP Chester Borrows as a local bill. It attracted an adverse report from the Attorney-General under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 as being inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression. The bill was given its first reading on 2 and 16 April 2008, and passed 106 to 13, with the Green Party, Māori Party, ACT New Zealand and Progressive Party voting against.New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, 646, 15755. On 29 October, the Law and Order Committee recommended it be passed with amendments. Passage of the bill was delayed by the 2008 election. It passed its third reading on 6 May 2009, and passed 62–59, being opposed by the Labour, Green, Maori and Progressive parties and ACT MPs Heather Roy and Roger Douglas.New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, 654, 2944.
Subsequent events In July 2009, the Wanganui District Council passed a bylaw prohibiting gang insignia from the urban area of Whanganui, Mowhanau/Kai Iwi and all rural halls in the district. The bylaw came into force on 1 September 2009. The first arrest under the bylaw was made the same day.
In July 2010, the Hells Angels lodged an application for judicial review of the bylaw in the High Court, alleging that the bylaw went beyond the powers granted by the Act and that it violated the Bill of Rights.
The High Court of New Zealand struck down the bylaw in March 2011, finding that the scope was broader than what the Council was authorised to do by Parliament, and breached the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 by limiting rights more than was reasonably necessary.
References
External links Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Act 2009 at legislation.govt.nz Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bylaw 2009 (archived)