Gangs have become a campaign issue after Green and Te Pāti Māori candidates attended a Mongrel Mob-linked election hui. Underneath the row is a policy question about what happens to the Gangs Act 2024 after the vote.
The Act came into force on 21 November 2024. It bans the display of gang insignia in public places, with a penalty of up to six months in prison or a $5,000 fine, and any insignia is forfeited to the Crown on conviction.
Police can also issue dispersal notices to three or more gang members gathering in a public place, which last seven days.
Courts can impose non-consorting orders for three years, and breaching one carries up to a year in prison. Schedule 2 of the Act lists 35 gangs, including the Mongrel Mob.
The numbers behind the law
There were 9,270 people on the police National Gang List at the 2023 election and 10,009 by July 2025, according to figures from the Police Minister’s office reported by 1News.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said in a written parliamentary answer that the growth was highly concerning.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says gang members make up less than a quarter of 1% of the adult population but are linked to about 18% of serious violent crime.
In July, the High Court found the insignia ban was inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. A declaration like this doesn’t strike down a law. Goldsmith said the Government would take advice on the ruling, but “the legislation will not be changing”.
Where the parties stand
ACT’s justice spokesperson Nicole McKee said in a statement the Greens and Te Pāti Māori were “courting votes at a Mongrel Mob pad”.
ACT also pointed to the Kahukura meth rehabilitation programme, which was developed by Mongrel Mob figure Harry Tam and received about $2.75 million from the Proceeds of Crime Fund under the previous Labour Government.
McKee said she redirected that money to victims and violence prevention as Associate Justice Minister, and funding for the programme stopped in 2024.
Goldsmith asked the Green and Te Pāti Māori candidates whether they had asked the Mob members what they did to get patched, “because their victims know”.
Green co-leader Marama Davidson told RNZ the party would repeal the patch ban eventually but that it wasn’t a priority. She said the party wasn’t apologising for making sure everyone could engage in democracy and reach politicians.
On funding, she told the NZ Herald the Greens were “open to funding what works” to reduce meth harm and prevent violence and crime. The party hasn’t named a programme or a cost.
Te Pāti Māori candidate Oriini Kaipara said on Instagram that whānau “do not stop being whānau because of a patch”.
Labour hasn’t campaigned on repealing the ban. Leader Chris Hipkins has focused on police numbers, telling RNZ that gang membership has grown three times faster than police numbers.
No party has published a costed gangs package during the campaign so far. The Greens’ position on repeal comes from interviews rather than published policy, and the Government said in July it would take advice on the High Court finding.
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