Baillie ChrisCHRIS BAILLIE (ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. At public meetings up and down the country the ACT Party are hearing the main concern New Zealanders have: the increase in crime. The last 5.5 years of the Labour - Green Government has seen a moral decline in all areas of society and an unprecedented increase in lawlessness that the whole country is talking about.We've got a 500 percent increase in ram raids. Serious assaults resulting in injury are up 121 percent. Knife crime is up 20 percent. Common assault is up 40 percent since 2017. Mental health call-outs are up 40 percent. And there's a huge increase in sexual offending. Police morale is at an all-time low. Since 2017 assaults on police have gone up 300 percent. Retail workers are being beaten up and 30 percent of those people that do it are repeat offenders. They receive no meaningful consequences so why not do it again? The Dairy and Business Owners Group presented a petition last week together with a manifesto of ideas. They are pleading for help. A dairy owner in Wellington has had so many incidents of theft and violence that he's given up calling the police. He won't even employ his own kids to work in his shop because it's too dangerous and he hates the fact that he has to employ other people's kids. There's talk of vigilante groups to keep the city safe. Yesterday in Christchurch a member of the public tackled a thief and called the police for no one to attend and he was told to let him go. It's not the New Zealand I knew.This Government trumpets a 1:480 ratio of police to public. Christchurch has a 1:658 ratio. Where have the 1800 police gone? Since 2017 Police National Headquarters staff numbers have increased from 926 to 1732. One hundred and eighty three of these are sworn staff who used to be on the front line. Eighty four went to the firearms unit. Media and marketing has increased from 13 to 45; ethnic services from one to 45. That would be great if there was less crime being committed. It doesn't matter how many police there are; if they are not going to the right places then it's a waste of money.When I was in the Wellington Police Courtenay Place was a hive of activity and fun. People had a great time and they felt safe because police walked the streets arrested people when they had to and kept a lid on all types of crime. The public were treated firm but fair. Cuddles were reserved for when you got home. Being soft on crime doesn't work and anyone who has any anything to do with young people knows that what they want and need are boundaries. It shows them that you care. Consequences change behaviour. But the police Minister proclaims she thinks New Zealanders feel safer and the rest sit in their air-conditioned offices and tell the country that everything's going OK. This is the Minister who didn't know that there was a major police operation going on in South Auckland with out-of-control gang members.Gang membership increased by 3960—81 percent in five years—since 2017. They take over a town and get excused for their behaviour. Eight cars were stopped with firearms found in five of them and that's considered a good-news story. There have been 2.8 firearm incidents involving gang members every day over the last year. On 20 June the police Minister said that with a gun register we'll be able to know where all the guns are. Gang members will not register their guns Minister; they are the problem. But it's not just Labour's fault. The Greens want to defund Police and refer to police dogs as attack dogs". It's just nuts. The Māori Party blame everything on the police justifying all crime with the lazy cry of "racism" whenever they open their mouths. The ACT Party have seen this coming and have been warning the Government for years. We have policies that will sort it out: we will bring back three strikes review electronic monitoring provide more prison beds and rehabilitation for all prisoners will be compulsory. New Zealanders are sick of crime and criminals. It's the Government's first duty to keep the people safe and ACT will not hesitate to do it.New Zealand police have been up against it for the last five years but they are doing a great job. Unlike teachers police can't go on strike when they don't get their way. But I hope the Minister is standing up and being a strong advocate for rewarding police appropriately in the current pay negotiations because they deserve it."