Gallagher Martin: Policing Bill — Third Reading 
Gallagher Martin: Policing Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:649;Page:18099] 
MARTIN GALLAGHER (Labour—Hamilton West) 
: 
 I want to acknowledge the historic context of this major legislation the Policing Bill. It is and will be seen as a major achievement by this Parliament this Government and this Minister. It is very important to acknowledge the historic context of this bill which brings the administration of policing for all the community into the 21st century. 
The previous speaker Mr Borrows the member for Whanganui has been a very constructive member of the Law and Order Committee which I used to chair. To date he has made a very constructive contribution to consideration of the bill but I have been a little disappointed to hear some of his comments—obviously he was under direction from Central Casting or the National research unit or the whips. Clearly he has been instructed to raise issues around the use of the Taser. I was very sad personally that we heard from Gerry Brownlee yesterday and not Chester Borrows National’s spokesperson on police. He has far more background in policing than Gerry Brownlee. But Gerry Brownlee does have some experience around common law and community order issues! My good friend Ron Mark from the Christchurch area is well aware of that. But yesterday Chester Borrows was silenced and was not able to speak on the use of Tasers. I acknowledge Ron Mark the current chairperson of the Law and Order Committee where indeed the Minister told Mr Borrows at the select committee on I think 2 July that the Commissioner of Police would like to hear Parliament’s view with reference to the Taser issue. I want to move on though because this is just a short call and frankly I am looking forward to getting this historic legislation through and I am looking forward to the contribution that the chair of the select committee will be making. 
This bill was and is about renewing the mandate of the New Zealand Police to protect life and property maintain law and order prevent and detect crime minimise crashes and prosecute offenders. Again I acknowledge in terms of the confidence and supply agreement we have with New Zealand First that we have absolutely ploughed extra resources into the New Zealand Police. We now have record numbers of police officers and more on the way. Many are operating out of refurbished stations and backed by new protective equipment. Indeed we have focused on tackling the root causes of crime by intervening early and effectively to help stop the cycle of offending from getting started. Obviously the police have a very critical role in terms of the entry points to the criminal justice system and they are increasingly looked to for their ability to positively influence people particularly young people away from a life of crime. This is a historic day because this bill is the platform for the modern New Zealand Police in a 21st century society. 
The reality is that the member for Hamilton East David Bennett has praised our Minister of Police on a number of occasions. I know that to be true. I know that he is delighted with the service of the police in the Hamilton area under the district commander Allan Boreham who is giving very very positive leadership. I know David Bennett finds it quite frustrating to be in Opposition because I know that there are media releases he would like to give that say “This is a very good Minister.” 
I now conclude my contribution by saying that this is a historic day and this is a historic bill. I pay personal tribute to the years of work particularly by this Minister of Police. I want to thank her I want to thank the Commissioner of Police and I want to thank the Law and Order Committee and acknowledge the positive contribution of the chair of the Law and Order Committee. But most important I want to join others in paying tribute to the men and women of the New Zealand Police who every day do not know what that particular day holds and who serve our country so well. Today we honour them and I believe that this bill will be an appropriate reflection of the environment in which they will continue to serve their country in the years to come.