Our government has just passed a new piece of legislation aimed at cracking down on gangs and ridding New Zealand of the misery they cause. The bill will come into effect in the second half of November and will ban the display of gang insignia in all public places, meaning that gang members won’t be able to flaunt their patches and intimidate Kiwis. It will also stop gang members from gathering in public. Police will be able to intervene when a gang meeting is disrupting members of the public by issuing dispersal notices, so that they can't associate with one another for seven days. This will be supplemented by new non-consorting orders, which can stop gang members from engaging with each other for up to three years.

We’ve campaigned on this for a long time, and now we are walking the talk and delivering for you.

We’ve also just introduced a new package of sentencing reforms – so that criminals face proper consequences for their crimes. These reforms will cap sentencing discounts that judges can apply at 40 per cent and prevent the use of remorse discounts for repeat offenders. It will also introduce a new aggravating factor for those who offend against sole charge workers – like dairy owners or service stations, and for those who live stream or post their crimes online or exploit children by aiding them to offend.

It’s also encouraging the use of cumulative sentencing for offences committed on bail, in custody or on parole, implementing a sliding scale for early guilty pleas with a maximum sentence discount of 25 percent, reducing to 5 percent for a guilty plea entered during the trial. Finally, it will also amend the principles of sentencing to include any information provided to the court about victims’ interests.

It’s a big suite of reforms.

We are a government of targets and delivery- not talk and inaction. These changes begin to reset our justice system to rid New Zealand of lawlessness and put victims – not criminals, at the heart of the system.

When we deliver on these aims we can meet our target to ensure there are 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime, and a 15 per cent reduction in serious youth offending by 2029. The level of criminal offending that Labour left us with was morally reprehensible – and it changes now. We are going to restore law and order, so we can get New Zealand back on track.

The Waikato Medical School proposal has entered a new phase with cost benefit analyses being sought. Like David Bennett and Tim Macindoe before us, Tama and I have been pushing hard for this because it will have a big impact on the supply of rural general practitioners who are desperately needed and will have a big impact on the Hamilton electorates.

This is just a snapshot of one area of the hundreds that we are working on. There is so much more that we have been doing but I can’t fit everything in!

The Parliamentary Rugby Game in August was a great success, raising $20,000 for the charity WaterBoy to help get kids into sports.

Who won? The WaterBoy.

Our guest speaker for September was Mike Holloway, founder of Tautoko Tane, Male Survivors Aotearoa. Mike gave a compelling presentation of his own experiences surviving abuse and its life-long effects as seemingly random events trigger episodes that knock him off balance. He acknowledged about the fantastic work being done by the paid and voluntary workers of the Trust and the seemingly endless demands for their services.

Come along on Monday 7^th October 7pm, 967c Wairere Drive, to hear Keith Holmes, Waikato Provincial President for Federated Farmers, speak about balancing farming and environmental issues. Farming is and will remain the critical cornerstone of our economy so it is absolutely critical for our future that it is done in the most sustainably effective manner.

With Zhenyu Sun at the Chinese Moon Festival. 

My job is to represent the interests in Parliament of every member of the Hamilton East electorate, not just those who voted for me. Please feel free to contact me to if you have any issues where you think I can help navigate through government bureaucracy or if you have any concerns about our community. I promise I will listen to you.

My Senior MP Support person, Carina Fraser, we can both be contacted on 07 853 5640 or ryan.hamiltonmp@parliament.govt.nz

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With warm regards,

Ryan Hamilton | MP for Hamilton East