Ardern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeArdern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 17 April 2014. Volume:698;Page:17445. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) to theMinister of Police: Does she stand by her statements that police are “much happier under a National-led Government” and that “there have been no police budget cuts”?Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Police): Yes. This Government has backed the police and maintained their budget. Those statements were made in this House last yearin response to a question from Labour about a Police Association survey. That survey found that union police members were more concerned about front-line resourcing under the previous Labour Government than they were under this Government. This is backed up by the police’s own survey results which have found that staff engagement levels have improved significantly under this National-led Government. Under Labour in 2007 only 13 percent of police staff were fully engaged and nearly a quarter of staff were actively disengaged. Last year nearly 25 percent were fully engaged and only 15 percent were disengaged. The results speak for themselves. Under this Government crime is falling public confidence is higher and police are certainly happier.Jacinda Ardern: Has the current or past Police Commissioner expressed any concerns over the additional pressure they have faced since her Government reduced the total appropriation for Vote Police by nearly $36 million in the last Budget?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I have repeated in this House and at estimates select committees that this Government has maintained the police budget. Like any other agency the police are expected to live within their budget and police are continuing to do that.Jacinda Ardern: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I asked whether or not the current or past Commissioner of Police had expressed any concerns about the change in the police budget—Mr SPEAKER: Order! If the member had asked that question I could assist her. She asked that and then she went on to talk about an underfunding that occurred—a reduced appropriation I think of $36 million. The Minister chose to respond to that part of the question. I invite the member to continue her supplementary questions.Jacinda Ardern: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I added in the amount that it had been reduced by in order to give the context of whether or not the commissioner had raised that specific reduction in budget.Mr SPEAKER: The member has her own good reasons for adding in the amount but subsequent to adding in the amount she then gave the ability to the Minister to answer that part which she did. She frankly disagrees that there has been an undercutting to the appropriation. The answer has been relevant. It has addressed the question. The member may have a further supplementary question. I suggest she uses it.Jacinda Ardern: Has the current or past Commissioner of Police expressed any concerns over the current level of the police budget?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I do not think there has been a Commissioner of Police or a chief executive who has not said they could do other things if they had more money. However this Government has focused its resources on getting more effective and more efficient use of resources and that is what I have asked of the commissioner. Actually it has worked. We have got recorded crime at a 29-year low.Jacinda Ardern: If the police are much happier why has the resignation rate for front-line police officers almost tripled—tripled—since 2009 as shown in this chart I am holding with more than 350 police not retiring but leaving the force in the last year alone?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: We have been through a recession that has seen the lowest attrition rate from police in something like 40 years. In fact it was down at about 2.7 percent at one stage.Jacinda Ardern: It has tripled!Hon ANNE TOLLEY: Well you can hold up charts—I mean who knows what the figures are on either side? What we have now I understand is an average attrition rate of around 5.7 percent which is significantly below the average public sector attrition rate which sits at around 15 percent. Actually the police are incredibly happy. They arebetter resourced they are better tooled and they are better able to get out and prevent crime and the results speak for themselves.Jacinda Ardern: I seek leave to table an Excel spreadsheet of police resignations produced by the Parliamentary Library and based on the New Zealand Police magazineTen One which documents resignations across the force.Mr SPEAKER: The easiest way of resolving the matter is for the House to decide. Leave is sought to table a spreadsheet prepared by the Parliamentary Library. The source of some of the information was I think described as a police magazine. Is there any objection to that being tabled? There appears to be none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Jacinda Ardern: Is the Minister telling the House that a police force that has experienced a reduction in budget a huge restructure a loss of support staff a tripling of front-line resignations station closures and a loss of resources like training and vehicles is still happier under her Government?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I am not telling the House any of that because none of it is true. What that member has done is continue to undermine the police who have produced a reduction in crime in each of the last 4 years and now reported crime is at a 29-year low. I do not know why Labour is not celebrating that.