11. RON MARK (NZ First) Link to this
to the Minister of Police
Does she have confidence in the Police’s ability to act against illegal activity?
Hon PETE HODGSONWould the Minister of Police be concerned if police were unable or unwilling to act against a group whose members had made comments such as “I’m declaring war on New Zealand.” and “It’s good to kill a Pākehā.”; if not, why not?
Noting that the member has deliberately—and I think quite properly—posed the question hypothetically, the answer is quite clearly that there would be serious dismay in this House and in this country if the police were unwilling or unable to take action. And it is very good of the member to put the counter-factual in front of us: what would have happened had the police not responded?
Would she be concerned if police were unable or unwilling to act against a group that had undertaken military-style training camp activity using both the IRA and al-Qaeda training manuals, had considered a bombing campaign, and had suggested assassinating a senior politician; if not, why not?
Same answer—and same hypothetically framed question, I need to stress. It is important for us to face the counter-factual—that in circumstances like this, we must have a police force that is able and willing to respond.
Dr Pita SharplesTēnā koe, Madam Speaker; tēnā tātou katoa. What did the Minister of Police mean on Native Affairs on Sunday night when, talking about the impact of police actions on Tūhoe, she described the people of Tūhoe as “collateral damage”?
I am afraid I cannot give the member a direct answer to that question, but I can say that this side of the House does not draw a direct Māori connection with these events, or, indeed, a direct Tūhoe connection with these events. Here are the facts: 16 people have been charged; six of them are Māori and, of those six, three are Tūhoe.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. The question was in reference to what the Minister said about the Tūhoe people.
Madam SPEAKERWould the Minister please complete his answer, then we will be able to assess. But I think he had already addressed the question at the beginning.
I repeat the first few words of my answer: I am afraid I cannot give the member an answer to that question. However, it is fair to say that this side of the House does not draw a link between those events and Māoridom, or those events and Tūhoe. It is true that the alleged training camps were in the Tūhoe rohe, but had they been in the Southern Alps we would not have drawn a link with Ngāi Tahu. The fact of the matter is that three of the 16 people are Tūhoe and 13 are not. Nearly every member of Tūhoe is not involved in this.
Has the Minister seen any reports that would indicate that killing Pākehā, waging war on our nation, sourcing an al-Qaeda manual, discussing a bombing campaign, and suggesting the assassination of a senior politician would constitute the average New Zealander’s definition of “peaceful intentions”?
I have seen no such reports. I have, however, seen two poll results: one from UMR Insight, in which 13 percent of New Zealanders did not support the police and the remainder either did not have a view or did support the police; and the other, a phone-in poll from last Friday, in which the figure had dropped to 12 percent of New Zealanders who did not support the police and 88 percent who did.
What response does the Minister of Police have to Māori lawyer Moana Jackson, who last week resigned as patron of a wing of police recruits in protest at the raids, and who said that the police actions in the Urewera were not “a racially neutral act.”?
I did not see that quote, I am sorry, and I have no comment to make on the gentleman’s decision. I will say, however, on behalf of the Minister of Police, that the Commissioner of Police will be amongst Tūhoe in due course. He will put his head, his mind, and his body in front of those people. He will take from them whatever it is they have to say to them, and he will make to them whatever explanations he feels may be of use. That, I think, is the sort of thing one would expect from a Commissioner of Police, and I wish him well.