Calls for patch ban in Tasman town prompts eerie threat to councillor

A New Zealand district councillor has revealed he was threatened after prompting calls for a ban on wearing gang patches in stores. 

Paul Hawkes, a Tasman District Councillor in Motueka, says local businesses are fighting back against gang patches over claims of intimidation, telling The AM Show on Thursday it's a community initiative to take charge of the situation, in conjunction with police.

But being an outspoken critic of gang patches has come at a cost. Mr Hawkes revealed he received a threatening phone call from an anonymous gang member, and decided not to officially involve police in an attempt to keep the peace. 

"I'm a big guy - if they're not prepared to confront me face-to-face and talk to me about the issues then I'm not interested at all," he said. "I used some pretty stern language that I won't use on air telling them where to get off, and I haven't heard anything since."

He said gangs are welcome in the Tasman township, but they can't wear their gang patches in stores, after local businesses banded together to say enough is enough. 

"If they break the law, then the police will be involved, but we're quite welcoming," said Mr Hawkes. "I don't have an issue with gangs at all - my issue is the intimidation factor of them wearing patches on the main street."

The majority of gang members have been respectful of the ban on patches in stores imposed by local businesses, Mr Hawkes told The AM Show. But he admits there has been a higher presence of gang members in Motueka of late, and that they're tapping into the town's drug scene. 

New Zealand gang membership is on the rise, according to figures released to Newshub, which also show the proportion of prisoners with gang links has increased by 82 percent since 2013. That's a sharp increase considering adult gang members represent just 0.1 percent of New Zealand's population. 

"Gangs are related with violence and drugs," Mr Hawkes claims, which is a risk for Motueka where the drug scene "is quite rife". But he says gangs are welcome in the town as long as they respect the locals' wishes not to wear patches. 

"I don't want to cast dispersions against their nature. If they want to come to Motueka that's fine, but play by the rules."

Newshub.