7. Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) Link to this
to the Minister of Police
Does she stand by her statement that “it is essential that police have the resources and support they need to keep the public and themselves safe”?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Police) Link to this
Yes. That is why Budget 2009 provided $182.5 million of funding for extra police. The $182.5 million includes $20 million of capital funding for accommodation and vehicles to support the extra police. The police also received $10 million in Budget 2009 for Tasers to keep themselves and the public safe.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
Why, then, are Counties-Manukau police forecasting only an extra 26 police vehicles in 2010 to go with their 300 additional police?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
I think the member may have the wrong figures, because the Budget actually provided for 43 extra cars for Counties-Manukau police.
Sandra GoudieWhat is the Government doing to make sure that the police have the resources and support they need to keep the public and themselves safe?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
The Government has provided $182.5 million for extra police, accommodation, and cars. As a result, the number of front-line police will increase from 8,307 on 30 November 2008 to 8,907 by 31 December 2011. That means 600 extra police on the streets of New Zealand.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
I will take the Minister at her word. Why, then, are the Counties-Manukau police forecasting only an extra 43 police vehicles in 2010 to go with their 300 additional police?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
An awful lot of police will be on the beat, doing what police should be doing—working hard. But they do not all need to have one car each, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One of the things that the police are doing is looking at how they can more efficiently use the great deal of resources that they have been given by this Government.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
Are the cuts in police vehicle numbers linked to the Minister’s view that certain people should not receive tickets if they break the law, and I quote: “When we see action being taken against generally law-abiding people—and you can talk about quotas or targets or tickets or whatever as an example—that actually ultimately undermines the respect that the public have for the police, and I do not think that works for police.”; and, considering that attitude, did she also suggest to the Minister of Transport that he cut $49 million out of the road transport policing budget?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
The answer is no to all of those many questions. I would say to that member that I stand by my statement that New Zealand police can do the great job that they do because the vast majority of the public support them in doing that. And one of the reasons they can do that is that the public expect them to be fair, to be reasonable, and to enforce the law in that way, and I am very proud that New Zealand police actually do do that.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
I seek leave to table a letter from the Police News of June 2009, from the Tasman Police District road policing manager, who states: “The ‘generally law-abiding public’ that the Minister refers to are those that feature far too often in fatalities and serious injury crashes that our frontline staff have to clean up after.”
Mr SPEAKER