Cosgrove Clayton: Policing (Involvement in Local Authority Elections) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Cosgrove Clayton: Policing (Involvement in Local Authority Elections) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 22 June 2010. Volume:664;Page:12038. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 Let me say from the outset that the Labour Opposition will support this bill. As the explanatory note of the bill states in the original policing Act the Police Act 1958 there was a framework for prohibiting police from standing in local authority elections but as the bill states the additional step required—naming the relevant local authorities in regulations—was never taken. It is a fact that in 2008 the Labour coalition Government at the time with New Zealand First passed the Policing Act of 2008 which as the Minister said put the prohibitions in place. Let me say that one of the primary reasons for that at that time was a political reality—which I am sure all members of the House are aware of—in the form of coalition partners. One has coalition partners and one has demands from coalition partners as this Government has had from its coalition partners. A demand was made by New Zealand First and I think Ron Mark led the charge at the time or was particularly passionate about it for a variety of reasons and it was agreed to. I join with the Minister—I know this is a rare occasion—in expressing— 
Grant Robertson 
: It is noted. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: My colleagues have noted it—another black mark against my name! I join with the Minister in expressing the view that the previous legislation affected about five serving police staff. One of them actually resides in my electorate and is very good—and my view is that all the councillors are very good in the Waimakariri district. He is Constable Robbie Brine. There is the need to manage conflicts of interest around issues of say implementing by-laws that the constable may be voting on as a councillor in a council capacity with the epaulettes off and then having to implement those by-laws as a policeman with the epaulettes and the hat on. I know that Councillor Brine and the other police officers who serve as elected officials manage those conflicts of interest pretty admirably. I am sure though that there will be those in the community who will have a view to the contrary but when I speak for my patch I can say that the police constable who is a councillor manages those roles professionally and does an admirable job as all my councillors do. 
I would say in passing that it is a pity that this bill could not go before a select committee although I acknowledge that local body elections are relatively close. But our side of the House would still argue that there was time and I know we would have cooperated on this issue in respect of if you like a turbo-boosted select committee process to at least examine the issues and perhaps give organisations like the Police Association and others a chance to express a view on this. 
I want to again join with the Minister and say that our police who act as leaders on local authorities within our communities do a pretty superb job. In fact one could argue that the nature of police work means one would bring about a safer community. Certainly if I use the Waimakariri District Council case I can say we have a safer community council as many other districts and cities do. I think it adds to the expertise of a local authority to have a law enforcement officer not only as part of the discussion but as an elected official who can bring his or her—in this case his—expertise to the table especially in smaller towns like in this case Rangiora or Kaiapoi or Oxford in my area where police are community leaders. Whether or not they are elected officials they are treated like elected officials especially in towns like Oxford and they are probably treated with a heck of a lot more respect. But they are on call 24 hours a day and whether they are in the blue uniform or in plain clothes as a councillor people know them because they have a high profile as police officers. As I said they are on call as elected officials are when they wear the blue uniform 24/7 and when they do not. 
I think this bill is a good bill. As I said I would have preferred it to be referred to a select committee for an expedited examination through the select committee process of the issues pertaining to it. I say that for two reasons: firstly it is always appropriate to health-check legislation and make sure we have it right; and secondly it might have demystified some of the criticism from some in the community in cases where police have that dual role. I think it would have given a chance for if not the policemen who are councillors themselves then certainly the Police Association and others to highlight the appropriateness with which those five serving staff act as elected officials and perhaps also highlight some of the advantages in the additional skills that law enforcement officers can bring around the council community board or local authority table. Certainly I do not think it is a disadvantage to have a constabulary staff member on a local authority. I think that it can only add value because local authorities today delve deeper and deeper into social issues especially when it comes to community safety. I have talked about safer community councils. 
When it comes to combating youth crime many of our councils—and again I go back to my own council the Waimakariri District Council—are taking greater and greater responsibility for looking after their own patch assisting the police in law enforcement and engaging in programmes especially around youth crime. They want to take greater responsibility for those issues. To have a police officer who not only assists with advice in that capacity but is also an elected official I think provides some additional mana and a higher level of expertise as one who can stand around the council table and although being careful not to speak as a sworn police officer can speak bluntly as a person who has experience. Treading that fine line can only enhance debate skills and knowledge in local authorities. 
I know there are some who as I said at the start say: “Hey isn’t there a difficulty constitutionally?”. For instance if we take the boy-racer issue councils are implementing by-laws. It may be the case that a police officer is called to vote and speak on a by-law about boy-racing in restricted areas and then to put on the blue uniform on Friday night and go and implement those by-laws. There are those who may say: “Hey isn’t there a conflict of interest in respect of that?”. To my knowledge I do not think there has been a time when those potential conflicts of interest have not been able to be managed either by the local authority itself or the constable who is the elected person. 
I think that common sense prevails. Like any issue where there is a conflict of interest there is the ability to declare it and to walk away from the table to walk out of the room and say: “Hey it is too close to my professional occupation as a police officer.” or any other profession or occupation such as a lawyer a doctor or whatever. Those people can say: “I will walk out of the room and leave those issues in abeyance for the council to decide.” I certainly have not seen examples—although maybe others have—where those issues have not been appropriately managed. Of course if they are not appropriately managed the officers are responsible to their hierarchy. We have had issues of conflict of interest in regional councils—even in my own patch—where the Auditor-General has come in and made judgments about that. I think there are basic and common-sense mechanisms in place whereby if people are concerned about a conflict of interest they can be managed by the common sense of the officer/councillor by the powers under the local government legislation and through the Auditor-General and equally through the authorities disciplinary processes and common sense of the police hierarchy—superintendents district commanders and the like. 
In essence Labour supports this legislation. We believe that it is appropriate. I suppose we would have liked to see it go through the quality-control process of a select committee but we support the legislation.