Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:624;Page:19362] 
5.  
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay Of Plenty) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she have confidence in the Minister of Police; if so why? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Deputy Prime Minister) 
 on behalf of the  
Prime Minister 
: Yes because he is a hard-working and conscientious Minister. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Why is the Prime Minister happy with Mr Hawkins’ leadership of New Zealand Police when in the Minister’s own Counties-Manukau Police District there are reports that rape complaints lie amongst hundreds and hundreds of uninvestigated police files? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I am advised first of all obviously that the leadership of the police for operational purposes rests with the Commissioner of Police and I am interested always that the National Party wants to adopt a policy whereby a politician can direct the Commissioner of Police on operational matters. There is a two-word term for that—one of which is “police” and the other “State” but I will not put them together for the purposes of this particular argument. 
Rodney Hide 
: How can the Prime Minister have confidence in George Hawkins as the Minister of Police when in his own backyard of south Auckland nine complaints of rape—one dating back to Christmas—are yet to be allocated to a police officer to investigate because of a lack of resources which that Minister of Police stands up in this House and denies? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Government’s position is that the Commissioner of Police has the resources sufficient for such purposes and obviously the Minister will take up with the commissioner issues around rape complaints lying unanswered and uninvestigated for any considerable length of time. 
Marc Alexander 
: Why does the Prime Minister continue to have confidence in the Minister of Police when the high Easter weekend road toll strongly suggests that his emphasis on issuing speeding tickets is clearly misplaced in contrast to and at the expense of core crime concerns that by default are being relegated to being seen as a second-tier police function? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The high Easter road toll was in large part due to excessive speeding. The first multi-fatality accident was due to speeding. If the member is now saying the police should not have been trying to reduce the level of speeding on the open roads then I fail to follow the logic of the case that he is making. 
Ron Mark 
: Did the Prime Minister not hear the President of the Police Association Mr Greg O’Connor say on radio today that currently around 1000 cases in Auckland alone are not being investigated by the police because the police are grossly understaffed; and is that not proof of what New Zealand First said on 30 May 2003 when announcing its policy to double the size of the police force in order to bring New Zealand into line with other First World countries such as the United States England Wales and Australia with their police-citizen policing ratios? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: What I can report is that we have the lowest crime rate for over 20 years and we have one of the highest crime clearance rates in our recorded history—[ 
Interruption 
]—and no amount of barracking from the Opposition will change the facts. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: How long can the Prime Minister keep telling the public that the police are adequately staffed when an ordinary citizen tailing a drunk driver can ring 111 five times pass a police car issuing traffic tickets and get no action whatsoever to take this dangerous menace off the roads? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I am pleased that at last the member considers that policing of road offences is an important part of police activity. It is the first time in some weeks that he has come to recognise that fact. An inquiry is under way into the 111 system. We shall see what the results of that inquiry are. 
Ron Mark 
: What are the public to think about this Government when on the one hand a dairy owner reports thefts and the names of the perpetrators but gets no action but on the other hand the Hon David Benson-Pope cries to the police and gets a patrol car sent immediately with an officer without having laid one formal charge in order to get $35 picked up yet at the same time interestingly enough the police against all advice seek to prosecute an Opposition MP for driving a tractor in Parliament grounds whilst ignoring the fact— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Does the member have a question? 
Ron Mark 
: —that the Prime Minister was involved in art fraud for which a charge was never laid— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Does the member have a question? I am not sure what the question was. There was a series of statements. The member should succinctly ask the question. 
Ron Mark 
: On the back of that evidence what are the public to think of this Government and its policing priorities? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: What they are to think is firstly that we have the lowest crime rate in over 20 years and secondly that we have the highest crime clearance statistics for many many years. The member may not like that but it is in fact the situation in New Zealand. On his reference to facts perhaps he would like to get his facts right. In the one case where the person in south Auckland reported the names the offender was trespassed off the particular property. Efforts were made to locate the offender. He will be interviewed should he come to police attention again. That particular offender is not the one referred to in terms of the video evidence which Mr Hide gently tried to confuse—one with the other. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Why does the Prime Minister have confidence in Mr Hawkins when the Labour Party list ranking committee does not; and maybe it is more in touch with the country than this Prime Minister? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Prime Minister has no ministerial responsibility for the Labour list. I think that members on the other side of the House would die to be No. 25 on our list rather than be Nos 6 or 7 on most of theirs. 
Ron Mark 
: I seek leave to table a statement made by Madeleine Flannagan of south Dunedin outlining the incident involving the dispatching of a police car to collect $35. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Is there any objection to the tabling of that document? There is objection. 
Ron Mark 
: I seek leave to table some documents including a letter from the police where they admit they failed to investigate a report of fraud signed by Mr A F Shearer. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Ron Mark 
: I seek leave to table a letter from the police to a Miss Ria Whittam apologising for police failure to investigate properly a theft. 
Document not tabled. 
Ron Mark 
: I seek leave to table an email from a Mr Brendan Murphy about his reporting to the police a stolen car on the Auckland motorway—a report that the police failed to respond to. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. The document will not be tabled. 
Ron Mark 
: Then there is hardly any point in seeking leave to table the other 10 or 15 is there? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I would think not.