1. JOHN KEY (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
What action, if any, has she asked for from her Ministers and officials in response to violent offending in South Auckland?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) Link to this
I have asked senior officials to work on measures to support the Manurewa community to stand up against crime and violence in the area, as was done in response to the number of homicides in Ōtara some 18 months ago; and also to work on proposals for changes to liquor licensing laws.
Why should New Zealanders take her talk on liquor licences seriously, when in November 2006 her then justice Minister, Mark Burton, promised a review of liquor laws, which he said could include the consideration of the number of off-licences, when it took a year for that review to see the light of day; and when, despite the review, there have been no recommendations from her Government to have changes made?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Indeed, officials have done quite a lot of work on what changes could be made; and the member, and other members, will have an opportunity, of course, to permit Mr Hawkins to introduce, and have a first reading of, his bill.
Dail JonesWhat steps will the Prime Minister take to ensure that the South Auckland community, and the Sikh community in South Auckland in particular, are involved in the police inquiry into the cold-blooded murder of shopkeeper Navtej Singh, and that the inquiry will also look into the effect of excess liquor outlets in the area?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I understand that the police will be reviewing the manner in which they responded at the time of the tragic killing, but the police are advising my senior officials that they consider that the density and proliferation of liquor outlets in the area are certainly contributing to crime among the young, and that is why, in response to that, I have ordered that we speed up the review of what we are doing in the liquor licensing law in this area.
Dr Pita SharplesTēnā koe; tēnā tātou katoa. Is she aware that the Sikh community plans to lay a formal complaint against police over their actions in authorising the delay of more than 20 minutes in allowing ambulance staff on to the premises to help the late Navtej Singh, and will she be calling for an urgent inquiry into the actions of police in emergency situations?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I understand from a statement issued by the secretary of the Sikh Council of New Zealand yesterday that the Sikh community is not planning to lodge a complaint. I understand that they are, of course, very interested in the review the police do on their response at that time.
Does the Prime Minister recall a statement made by her then Associate Minister of Health Damien O’Connor when he said, back on 8 November 2006, that “The review would take into account changes that have taken place since the age was dropped to 18 in 1999, such as the increase in the number of outlets supplying alcohol,”; and I put it to the Prime Minister that she has had 9 years of full review, which is a long time to make changes, and that she has failed, and is it not time for a new Government that will actually take action?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
A great deal of work has been done on reform of the law. That member might have more credibility if he had not consistently voted in favour of liberalising the law.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
Can the Prime Minister confirm that the view that the Sikh community would be bringing a complaint against the police is an erroneous one, promulgated by the National Party Manukau East candidate, one Kanwaljit Bakshi, which has been disowned by the Sikh community?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I have indeed seen the statement from the secretary of the Sikh Council to that effect, who said that they were utterly disappointed at the singular lack of understanding and compassion shown by those associated with the main Opposition party, and further said that right from the first day, that party seemed more interested in having its views aired by the media, rather than in consoling the grieving family.
Keith LockeDoes the Prime Minister still hold to the view that New Zealand should have a predominantly unarmed police force, particularly given overseas evidence from countries like America that putting extra arms into the police force is usually accompanied by a higher level of criminal violence?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Yes, I still do hold to that view, as do the New Zealand police, who say that general arming of the police is not an option for them.
If the Prime Minister is right, and a great deal of work has been done by officials—work that started in November of 2006—why, under her Government, has nothing happened, and is not that just the statement from her Government the whole time, that there is always another review coming, but absolutely no action?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Unlike that member, we do not just go off slogans; we do the hard work.
Does the Prime Minister agree with the Sikh Council secretary Verpal Singh, who said yesterday: “society needs to look inwards and identify the causes of this kind of behaviour and come up with projects/initiatives that address these causes.”; if so, what does she think the real causes of such violence are, and what is her Government doing to address them?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I think there is a lot of wisdom in the statement from the secretary of the Sikh Council. The causes are complex, as we found in response to the Ōtara youth gang killings some 18 months ago. This was not a matter of young people who were unemployed or not in education. Indeed, they tended to be in work or in education, be at church on Sunday, and be involved in community activities. But something else was going desperately wrong in their lives. It is more complex than saying that this is just about deprivation.
Gordon CopelandWould the Prime Minister agree with the comment of a former High Court judge that family breakdown is the major driver of violent crime in South Auckland and elsewhere; if so, would she support a royal commission to understand and address that issue, as called for in the petition of Larry Baldock and 296,000 others recently delivered to the Office of the Clerk?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I do not have any evidence to suggest that family breakdown would be the predominant cause, but I do think that those who grow up in homes without love and who experience violence are certainly more likely to have a predisposition to it. We need to break that cycle of violence, which is what a great deal of our Government’s activity has been devoted to.
What action will she take to investigate claims she made on Radio New Zealand that “I suspect a lot of police cars carry firearms more routinely than you or I know.”, in the light of her later statement that she believed people do not want routinely armed patrol cars as “they won’t want to up the ante where you end up with LA style shoot outs with gangs.”?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
The latter reference was, of course, to routinely armed police patrolling the streets on the beat. I have said that probably there are firearms in the back of a car more often than people realise, but that is part of what the police would call a moderated or differential response according to the circumstances as they assess them.
Does the Prime Minister seriously believe that New Zealanders think that crime is improving under her watch, when they know, as she knows, that violent crime has increased 43 percent since her Government came into office, that there are now 20 more robberies per week since her Government came into office; and maybe even more pertinently when looking at the results of today, that back in 1999, when we look at what has been happening in Counties Manukau, not only has violence gone up by 64 percent over the last 8 years, but, in fact, robberies have now doubled and gone up by a staggering 149 percent; and if she calls that success, what would she call failure?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I am advised that a very significant reason for the increase in recorded violent crime is actually recorded domestic violent crime that people are now taking to the police, and that is a good thing.
Well, is the Prime Minister aware that her own member and former Minister of Police, George Hawkins, in his own words has described violence in Manurewa as the worst in 25 years, and that that escalation has occurred under her watch; and if that is not failure, what is?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Again, if more people are reporting domestic violence, that is a positive thing to do. But overall, crime is down in New Zealand, in Manukau City, and in Manurewa, which the Leader of the Opposition cannot even pronounce properly.
Has the Prime Minister asked the Minister of Police why, when compared with other police districts, the number of sworn officers per head of population in Counties Manukau is the second-lowest in the country, and if she has not asked, why has she not bothered answering?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
It is not my practice to accept any figure that that member offers prima facie.
Will the Prime Minister be continuing to reject the very sensible policies that the National Party has outlined, which actually have a real chance of resolving some of the crimes—
Hon Darren HughesWell, I will. What about the youth justice initiatives that we have announced—$35 million on dealing with young violence and on army-style camps—what about putting more police on the streets, what about changing bail laws, what about getting tough on gangs, and what about dealing with the issues of P? On this side of the House we have some answers, and on your side of the House there are no answers.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. If members go to the website of 2005, they will find that that is New Zealand First policy, not National’s policy. That is a fact.
Madam SPEAKERI know it is the first day back, but I remind members that this is question time and not the general debate.
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I would like to address that ill-informed question, because adding 1,000 more front-line police in this 3-year term is, of course, a major contribution, and when I became Prime Minister we had to reverse the National Party’s cuts to the police. That was National’s policy because it preferred looking after its friends at the top of the income tree, to basic policing in our communities.
I seek leave to table a statement made by Mark Burton where he advocates that there will be a review looking to examine the number of liquor outlets—
I seek leave to table a document that more than one question has referred to—that is, the statement issued yesterday by Verpal Singh, the Sikh Society’s secretary.
I seek leave to table a relevant document, and that is a report to the Minister of Broadcasting in April 2004 by the TV Violence—
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
I seek leave to table two documents. The first is the 2005 law and order policy of New Zealand First, which will demonstrate who thought of this idea.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
The second document is a report on the Integrated National Crime Information System, which cost hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, and was an utter, total loss to the taxpayer.
Hon Bill EnglishI seek leave to table a report from the New Zealand Herald today, reporting that Labour MP George Hawkins is assisting members of the Sikh community to lodge—
Ron MarkI seek leave of the House to table the coalition agreement between National and New Zealand First in 1996, which advocated the introduction—