Gore Mayor Tracy Hicks has met Mongrel Mob leaders in Gore in an attempt to tackle drug problems in the community.
A report from Gore District Council social capacity and health co-ordinator Bernadette Hunt at a council meeting on Tuesday night raised concerns about the "the growing gang presence inthe Gore district and across Southland".
"This is a co-ordinated, planned effort by the Mongrel Mob to grow its presence in the South," the report said.
It suggested establishing a community group to tackle the issue, suggesting the group could work on initiatives including a gang patch ban in shops, businesses and buildings throughout the Gore district.
A Gore District Council spokeswoman said councillors decided at the meeting to join Safe in the South, Southland's Safe Communities programme, aimed at "tackling issues threatening its community's resilience".
They set aside $6700 to be part of the southern coalition, also committing a further $2500 to "rapidly and independently implement specific initiatives", the spokeswoman said.
Hicks said that threats to the community were drug-based, not gang-based, and a patch ban was not planned at present.
Hicks and Hunt met local Mongrel Mob leaders before the meeting on Tuesday.
Hicks said he had been encouraged by what he had heard during the "constructive" conversation.
Gore mayor Tracy Hicks
"There was a real will across a variety of agencies in the Gore district to work together on alleviating the serious repercussions of the plague facing New Zealand — that is the misuse of meth," he said.
"There is the potential for us to do something special.
"When you look at the consequences we need to be doing what we can."
