Wanganui gang patch law passes

The law passed last night by 62 votes to 59. If Helen Clark was still an MP it would have been 62 – 60. ACT had three MPs (Hide, Boscawen and Garrett) vte in favour and two (Roy and Douglas) vote against.

I’m not convinced the new law will be effective, and I also think criminalising people for what they wear, rather than what they do, is the start of a potentially slippery slope.

However this has been a law strongly sought by the Wanganui District Council, and most of the people who live there. Parliament has a tradition of agreeing to most local bills.

It will be interesting to see how the law works in practice.