5. RON MARK (NZ First) Link to this
to the Minister of Police
How long will police have to wait to be equipped with Tasers following today’s decision by the Commissioner of Police to introduce them as a tactical weapon option?
Hon ANNETTE KING
Gerry BrownleeWell, he certainly would not bother to consult that member. I am glad that Chester Borrows actually had the sense to put out a statement saying National does support the use of Tasers, after the disgraceful behaviour of Gerry Brownlee yesterday. I have been advised by the Commissioner of Police that the Taser used during the trial will be reissued to the four trial districts as soon as they are retrofitted with the cameras and the appropriate refresher training is undertaken. He has also advised that New Zealand Police will made a Budget bid for the next financial year in order to equip the remaining eight districts with Tasers.
Can the Minister confirm that the police initially looked at the Taser back in 2000 following the fatal shooting of Steven Wallace, that they announced a trial in February 2006, that that trial commenced in September 2006 and was concluded in August 2007, and that the commissioner has today, on 29 August 2008, a year after the trial ended, given the OK to Tasers; and does she feel that that is an acceptable time line for the introduction of a device that will save the lives of police officers and offenders alike?
I have no difficulty with the time line and the time that the commissioner took to make that decision. It is a very serious decision that has been made by New Zealand Police, and to the commissioner’s credit he wanted to ensure that he got it right for New Zealanders. He also wanted to ensure that he had information on best international practice, and he made the effort to look at other countries and other jurisdictions to see how the Taser worked, including obtaining input from the Canadians in June, and from the Home Office late in June around its trials. I think he did the right thing.
Martin Gallagher
Madam SPEAKERAt the Law and Order Committee on 2 July, I advised that the Commissioner of Police would be keen to seek Parliament’s view on the Taser issue, and that he would be providing me with advice in July. The commissioner provided me with that advice in late July—
—and 27August was selected some weeks ago as the date for the ministerial statement. The Commissioner of Police confirmed that on Radio New Zealand National today, and I can only assume that Gerry Brownlee, with his interjection, doubts the commissioner’s word.
Keith LockeHow can the introduction of the Taser be a matter for the police rather than the Government to decide on, when New Zealand’s introduction of the Taser, which the Commissioner of the Police has announced today, will put the Government in breach of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, given that the United Nations Committee Against Torture has decided that Tasers are an instrument of torture and are to be ruled out in international law?
It would very much depend on how a Taser was used. I can assure the member that because an evaluation and trial has taken place, because work has been done in relation to how Tasers would be deployed, and because safeguards have been put in place and transparency has been assured, I believe that what the police in New Zealand have done is the right thing. They have made a decision to protect the public and the police. I believe that most New Zealanders support that decision.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. My question revolved around the use of Tasers being contrary to the UN convention against torture. The Minister has not answered that question.
I said it depends on how Tasers are used. To say that the police will use the Taser as an instrument of torture is a nonsense.
Can the Minister confirm that despite the 8 years the Taser has been under consideration, according to the announcement of the police today no budget has been formulated, approved, or allocated for the general purchase of Tasers, and that it will be at least a further 12 months before districts like Christchurch—recently reported to be the most violent city in New Zealand—receive Tasers; and does she believe that that is acceptable?
The New Zealand Police has no exemption from any Budget process that is available to departments. It must follow the rules. If the Commissioner of Police wishes to introduce Tasers to other districts earlier than he proposes, he will need to reprioritise his spending.
Would it not be easier, recognising just how urgently these devices are needed in the interests of protecting our men and women in the police force and of saving offenders’ lives, for the Government itself to make a decision to provide appropriate funding now, so that the police can place an immediate order, with the aim of getting these things issued to front-line officers in a far more expeditious manner?
If the Commissioner of Police wishes to make an out-of-Budget bid, he is entitled to do so. That does not mean the Government will agree to it. The Government would tell him, first of all, to look to his own resources, if that is his first priority.
I seek leave to table an item from CBS News where the United Nations Committee Against Torture says the use of Tasers, provoking extreme pain, constitutes a form of torture.