Hinewai Ormsby: Hawke's Bay Regional Council Chair on the need for a gang patch ban in their meetings

Hawke's Bay Regional Council is rethinking its policies after facing backlash for allowing patched gang members into a meeting.  

Images were posted online with the patched members after the council voted to retain Māori wards.  

Ministers David Seymour and Simeon Brown are frustrated it isn't the forcing the new patch ban.  

The council's chair, Hinewai Ormsby, told Ryan Bridge it was the first time something like this happened in its chambers.  

She says a gang patch policy hasn't been in place, but one is needed now. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Hawks Bay Regional Council is facing flak over a
Facebook post which features photos of patched Gang members inside
council chambers. Now the council uploaded the posts to Facebook.
It included the gang members celebrating the decision to retain
the Maori wards. Simon Brown, who's the local government minister,
is really upset at this. He said it was appalling.

(00:23):
They are intimidating and you're not allowed patches. It's against
the law. So what were they doing their Honeywhite Ormspi's
the hawks Bay Regional Council chair and she joins me
this morning, Mordenna Martina Ryan, thanks for being with me,
Simmy and Brown is not happy. What do you reckon?

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, So I'd just like to take us through sort
of the event that happens on Wednesday. So we were
in council chambers. We were obviously discussing an important matter
around Mali representations through our two Marti constituencies, and look,
that was a very common environment. Near the end, in

(01:04):
the middle of deliberations, we had Mungleman members come into
the chambers. It was it was quite packed as it was,
and the best thing in that situation, ready to do
was bring the discussion to a conclusion and allow the
chamber to disperse because the item was over and it

(01:25):
was a unanimous vote to support and retain those Maori constituencies,
which gives us the opportunity to go to rest Gringdom
and give the community the opportunity now to explain the
many benefits of having made boys around the table, so

(01:45):
that that's really what had happened on Facebook, so that
that was our staff and you know that was probably
not not a good move, and that they did come
down a couple of them afterwards. So that was a
discussion that I had with our vee.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Do you guys have security.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Not full time security.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
So we're there security that they're on the day, No.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Not that I was aware of. So when I looked
into whether we have a policy now that given this
is the first time it's happened in the Hawks Bay
Regional Council, we don't have a policy around being game pictures,
but we need to have one now of course.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Because the law we don't because presumably, I mean, I
don't know what your alcohol or drugs policy is, but
it's against the lord smoke meta. You wouldn't let someone
come in and smoke methan in your chamber. Do you
know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (02:45):
No, no, And it's against the law and the laws
enforced by police. And in this situation and council buildings,
you'd have a policy. And those that provide public service
areas like a district city councils have a really strong,
robust policy around being in game pictures. It's never happened

(03:07):
for us, so the one, but we will have one now.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
In the future. Call you'd call one one one, I guess,
would you and say, yeah, because.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
We're follow a policy that looked at you know, asking
those members leave your jackets in the car not acceptable
to bring in the building.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Did they say anything while they were there anyway?

Speaker 2 (03:31):
No, no, And look in the room. It was very
peaceful come and a celebratory rue. There was no there's
no words from them. There was no intimidation.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
No one felt scared.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
No, no, and you know, just just to be clear
that they came through near the end of the item,
and so the best thing was to carry on, bring
it to conclusion and then allow people to leave once
we head voted. It's a situation.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Thank you right, Thank you very much for your time
for explaining it to us, I really appreciate it. Hineway
at Ormsby, who is the Hawks Bay Regional Council Chair.
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