Borrows Chester: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Borrows Chester: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:641;Page:11660] 
10.  
CHESTER BORROWS (National—Whanganui) 
 to the  
Minister of Police 
: What proportion of response staff had been issued with stab-resistant vests by the end of July 2007 not including temporary covert body armour? 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Police) 
: 
 As of 24 July 2007 66 percent of response staff had been issued with permanent stab-resistant body armour and a further 11 percent of response staff had been issued with temporary stab-resistant body armour. As of 8 August 2007 5510 members of police had received stab-resistant body armour. That means that 75 percent of the total target of 7293 staff have a level of protection that was not available to them previously. 
Chester Borrows 
: Can the Minister confirm that 2000 vests are gathering dust in storage because over a quarter of officers were given vests that were too small due to “variability in skill level of the measurers” and why has no one been held accountable for this bungle? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I think it is fair to say that many mistakes have been made in this project and that has been acknowledged by the New Zealand Police. But since deputy commissioner Rob Pope took over this project when he became deputy commissioner the project has got back on track. There are 2000 vests in stock and these will be issued— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Small ones! 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: No they are not all small. This is some of the nonsense that is being spoken. The vests will be issued to members of the New Zealand Police—to new recruits to those returning to the workforce and to those returning from overseas. At the end of that time the department will then see which sizes are left. The vests are not all small. 
Jill Pettis 
: How is the time frame looking for finishing the roll-out of stab-resistant body armour by the end of the year? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I have been advised that the goal of finishing the roll-out by the end of the year is on target. I understand that the second to last shipment of stab-resistant body armour for the project arrived in New Zealand in late August a month ahead of schedule. The vests are currently being quality-checked before being sent to districts for distribution. 
Chester Borrows 
: When will all of the 2000 vests in storage actually be used in light of the fact that the Minister has had to bring forward the purchase of 2000 replacement vests of the right sizes costing another $2.7 million or is the truth that those vests will be sitting in storage when Labour gets the boot in 12 months? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: No the vests will not all be sitting in storage in 12 months when Labour is re-elected as the Government. Many of the vests will be issued to those who come back into the workforce to those who return from overseas and to new recruits. 
Chester Borrows 
: Why did the Minister state in May that only 1200 vests would need to be stored when records show she knew in March that up to 2000 would need to be put into storage? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Because those were the figures that the New Zealand Police gave me at that time. 
Chester Borrows 
: How can the Minister be sure that all of the 2000 vests will be used when the surplus of the second third and fourth-smallest sizes are being “held in stock for issue to staff whose physical dimensions match including new recruits”; and does she agree that even at current rates of recruitment if all recruits were small enough to fit those vests it would take 6 years before they were issued? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The thing about these vests is that they do not go off; they do not rot. So whether it takes 1 year or 5 years to roll them out they are still going to be there. However I have to tell the member that in the New Zealand Police the size of police officers goes from petite to XXX so to be able to provide vests there has to be that range. Of the 2000 vests there happen to be big ones and small ones. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I appreciate the answer that the Minister just gave the House. I think it was important. These vests do not go off. But do they go out of fashion? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order nor is it a supplementary question however interesting it may have been.