No. 71 Organised crime and the gangs

I recently gave a speech on organised crimes and the gangs in the context of growing concern about the proliferation of hard drugs. The link to the speech is: http://www.richardworth.co.nz/2006/Speech%20-%20Northern%20AGM.htm

The key points include:

* With nearly 6,000 patched members and an estimated 60,000 associates or "hang-arounds" ethnic, outlaw motorcycle and youth gangs in New Zealand out-number sworn police officers by nearly 9 to 1.

* A number of the gangs are actively involved in the peddling of drugs and the use of the proceeds of crime to establish businesses in the community.

* The Government's proposals in respect of new proceeds of crime legislation are flawed because there are better statutory models on which to base an asset forfeiture regime. Immigration - one nation many peoples shared values

There is a perception in the community that we are being over-run by immigrants who are destroying the New Zealand way of life. The perception is reinforced by adverse media comment and stereo typing of migrants.

Some of us overlook that immigrants fill critical shortages in our skilled workforce - about 41% of all practising doctors in New Zealand were trained overseas.

Immigrants improve our national demographic profile. They offset our declining birth-rate and the large and growing outflow of New Zealanders heading overseas. Only one in ten immigrants is aged over 55.

Immigrants also bring experiences and diversity that benefit the wider community -immigrants from the Balkans were instrumental in setting up the New Zealand wine industry; immigrants from Asia have added rich diversity to our food industry.

Facts about immigration

* One in six New Zealanders (700,000) was born overseas.

* In 2005 -79,000 permanent immigrants arrived in New Zealand and 72,000 New Zealanders left to live abroad.

* 81% of 804 employers surveyed in February 2006 rated the job performance of migrant employees as good or very good. * In 2004 there were: - 167 arrests for every 10,000 Asians in New Zealand - 320 arrests for every 10,000 Europeans, and - 1,448 arrests for every 10,000 Maori. The abuse of power by the party in power Don Brash said on 30 April 2006 in an Auckland speech: ...in the seven months since the election, politics has, to a degree, been a phoney war. Voters had a period of being weary of politics, and that is understandable, given the long election campaign, the close result, and then the time it took before a government was formed.

The Labour Party has also been embroiled in a huge amount of political scandal over that period. We've had people who are Cabinet ministers for some purposes but not for others; Cabinet ministers who refuse to resign despite prima facie cases for doing so; a minister openly attacking another minister and claiming he was doing it not as a minister but as a former Far North district councillor; and then the amazing spectacle of one Cabinet minister who it now appears took the exit almost before he was tackled.

We've had the shocking scandal of Labour spending half a million dollars over the legal limit on its election campaign, and using taxpayers' money to do so, in flagrant breach of the rules.

Why the media haven't absolutely hammered Helen Clark for that disgraceful and illegal behaviour is absolutely beyond me.

Political Quote of the Week

"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just." - Abraham Lincoln - US President Richard Worth

ENDS

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