8. CHESTER BORROWS (National—Whanganui) Link to this
to the Minister of Police
Is she satisfied with the performance of police management; if so, why?
Hon ANNETTE KINGCan the Minister confirm the statement issued by police at 2.34 this afternoon that the Hamilton police officer lying in hospital after being stabbed four times in the torso yesterday had not been issued with a stab-proof vest but had been only measured for one; and in light of the mismanagement of the roll-out of these vests how can she hide behind the excuse that this is an operational matter, when clearly it is a matter of life and death?
First of all, I would like to express my deep regret at the stabbing of an officer in Hamilton. I wish him a speedy recovery. I say also that I deeply regret that the stab-proof body armour is not available for all front-line officers at this stage. The project has been dogged by problems and delays. I wish the police could enact this programme as fast as possible, but mistakes have been made along the way that the police must take responsibility for—and they do. I say to the member that I hide behind nobody, as Minister. I front the issues. Hiding might have been the action of past Governments, but it is certainly not the action of this Government to hide behind anybody, even though the member is quite big enough to hide behind.
Jill PettisWhat is the latest information the Minister has received on yesterday’s claim by Mr Brownlee that the two Dominion Post reporters did not report the alleged incident of the rifle in the back of the car to the police at the time, because, as Mr Brownlee said: “The police were not too far from where they were, and they thought they”—meaning the police—“could see it.”?
I have received some very interesting information, which raises questions about the truth of Mr Brownlee’s assertions yesterday. Wanganui police early today asked to interview the two reporters concerned, to discover more detail about what they may or may not have seen. So far, no official response has apparently been received from the Dominion Post, but it does seem that the reporter who wrote the story and reported seeing the rifle in the back seat now apparently claims not to have seen such an incident. It may have been reported to him second-hand by the photographer. It also seems that the photographer may not have seen any gun—if one actually existed—on the back seat of the car, either, but rather saw one in the boot. I said yesterday that Gerry Brownlee made it up, but time will tell and I will keep the House informed.
Gerry BrownleeI raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I want to apologise to the House for getting it wrong—[ Interruption]
Madam SPEAKERQuite clearly, it was inappropriate for me to say that the rifle was on the back seat when it was in the boot all the time.
Can the Minister confirm that front-line police were first promised stab-resistant vests in June last year, then in February 2007 and then in May, but that fewer than half of officers have them now—all because management ordered the wrong colour, the wrong material, the wrong design, and then the wrong sizes, which means that 1,500 tiny little vests are now in storage, wasting $1.5 million that could have been spent on other tools to keep front-line police safe?
I think the member has pretty much summed up some of the errors that have been made with the purchase of these vests. [ Interruption] However—
No, would the Minister please be seated. We will hear the rest of this question in silence, because I cannot hear what is happening. If I cannot, I am sure that other members in the Chamber cannot.
However, I think it is important to tell the House that 3,241 vests have already been issued to staff. Another 1,500 are in the process of being issued in the incremental roll-out. There are 1,700 in storage, and I think that New Zealand First would be pleased to hear that, because the vests are able to be used for new officers in the future. We are recruiting 1,000 additional officers, and there are—[ Interruption]
—officers who change sizes. Some of them get bigger and some get smaller, so the vests are able to be used; they will not be wasted. I believe that the police will ensure that those officers who require them will get them. But that does not excuse the fact that this project has been very slow in its roll-out, with quite a number of problems that I think could have been better managed.
Darren HughesI raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. Twice during the Minister of Police’s answer Phil Heatley interjected—
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I just wonder whether the Minister would like to reconsider her answer. She said that 3,200 or so vests had been issued, with 1,500 to come.
Well, her initial statement said that there were 6,910 vests to be rolled out, and the figures do not add up.
Does the Minister stand by her response to the Bazley report that there can be no tolerance for disgraceful conduct by police officers involved in the exploitation of vulnerable people; if she does, why has the previous head of the Horowhenua Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), Detective Sergeant Peter Govers, been demoted rather than sacked for harassing a female informant for sex, with the option of returning to the CIB after 2 years and having promotion after a year?
I hope that I can get a couple of answers in here, because I want to tell the member, who did not hear me properly, that in fact 3,241 vests have been issued, and 1,500 are in the process of being issued. The figure of 6,527 vests have been received. Those are the latest figures I have, so if that helps the member I am happy to provide that information.
In response to the member’s question regarding the demotion of an officer, who I think carried out conduct not becoming of the New Zealand Police, I can say that a decision on what would happen to this police officer was made before the commission of inquiry’s report actually came out. I believe, as Mr Howard Broad, the commissioner, said on television last night, that if the issue came before us today the officer would lose his job.
Why has the Minister claimed that Govers was not dismissed because this action took place before she received the recommendations of the Bazley report, when for 3 years those in police management knew they were under the spotlight for the way they had handled these kinds of claims, they had seen drafts of the Bazley report, and they had even begun to implement its recommendations before it was released, yet on 19 March, 2 weeks before the Bazley report went public, they still chose to demote rather than dismiss?
There are two very important recommendations out of the 48 that Dame Margaret made, in relation to the police—two very important ones, which will be implemented this year. The first is in relation to the code of conduct. Unfortunately, the member put out a statement a few days ago saying there is already a code of conduct. I do not know whether that member remembers what is in place in the police. The report of the commission of inquiry states that there is no code of conduct, the head office of the New Zealand Police says there is no code of conduct, and the Police Association says there is no code of conduct. I know that there is no code of conduct. The only code of conduct applies to non-sworn officers. So the implementation of a code of conduct does make a difference, because it allows the police to consider behaviour as a whole and not be restricted by prescribed breaches of conduct, as currently detailed in the police regulations. That leads me to the second important recommendation, that the regulations governing the disciplinary matters of the police be changed. They will be changed, I believe, by September of this year. They probably should have been changed a long time ago, but they will be changed this year.
What does the Minister say to the women of this country who believed her assurances and those of the Prime Minister that their complaints about improper conduct by the police would be taken seriously, when she now appears to be telling them that zero tolerance applies to disgraceful conduct that occurred only after 3 April, which is when the Bazley report was released?
No, that is not what I am saying to the women of New Zealand. I am so pleased that it took this Prime Minister in this Labour-led Government, this Minister of Police, and the previous Minister of Police to take those women seriously and to set up a commission of inquiry to ensure that those issues were looked into. That never happened under a National Government. National never took it seriously. This Government did. We have 48 recommendations, and the assurance I give to the women of New Zealand is that every one of those recommendations will be implemented.