Mark Ron: General Debate 
Mark Ron: General Debate 
[Volume:631;Page:3147] 
RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 It gives me great pleasure today to rise to speak in the general debate on behalf of New Zealand First because I have to say that tomorrow will be a blue-ribbon day for the New Zealand Police—that is for sure. We can compare the joy elation and satisfaction that exists on these cross benches with the scepticism pessimism moaning whingeing and bitching that we hear coming from Simon Power’s quarters. [ 
Interruption 
] I withdraw the word; I did not mean to call Simon Power a bitch. 
Simon Power 
: Point of order— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: The member has withdrawn. 
Simon Power 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The member has just said it twice. He is quite entitled to call me any range of things within the Standing Orders but reference to that particular word twice in the course of his speech is not only outside the Standing Orders but I would think quite frankly is grossly offensive to most people present in the House. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: The member will withdraw. 
RON MARK 
: I withdraw if I have offended the member’s sensibility. “Bitch” I would assert Madam Speaker is a female dog. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: Please be seated. I warn the member. He knows that when he withdraws and apologises he is not to repeat the indiscretion for which he has been called to withdraw and apologise. I ask the member now to withdraw and apologise. 
RON MARK 
: I withdraw and apologise. Is it not interesting that the people who are complaining who are casting the most pessimism and doubt and who are trying their level best to undermine the morale of the police right now are National members who claim the National Party as the law and order party of this nation? 
 Let us talk about the facts of the matter. The fact is that National Governments slashed police numbers. The fact is that a National Government promised to increase the police strength by 900 officers and did that by merging the Ministry of Transport with the police force and calling those traffic officers crime fighters—which clearly was not the case. The fact is that a National Government gave the police a computer worth $200 million and then asked them to seek cost recovery through staffing reductions—and that cost about 400 police. The fact is that it was not until Jim Bolger that National leader with vision signed up to a coalition agreement with New Zealand First and pledged to reinstate 500 police officers in the force that that increase in staffing happened during the coalition period with New Zealand First and National. 
That pattern of support for the police has continued now with New Zealand First securing not 1000 but 1250 new staff. Do members remember the whining that came from the Opposition side when Mr Power said: “Oh no it’s not going to be 1000. It’s going to be fewer because there’s going to be non-sworn people.”? What did we find? He was right—the number was not 1000; it was 1250. 
But wait—there is more. Now we are bringing on stream about 30 specialist forensic people—people who are graduates from university who have seen  
CSI: 
Crime Scene Investigation 
 like it as a career option and like that sort of work. They are lining up to enlist in the police force to become New Zealand’s—I guess Auckland’s—CSI team. Is that not great? But Mr Power is not happy. He has to have something to denigrate the police with—to rubbish them. So he stands there saying that it is not going to happen. 
Well here is a challenge to Mr Power. If we do not achieve the target that is fine; he may well be vindicated in his criticisms. But if we do I ask the member whether he will resign from Parliament. Will he put his money where his mouth is? Will he accept responsibility by resigning for denigrating the police for denigrating the commissioner and for denigrating the fine men and women out there who are trying to do the job? I do not hear him say “Yes”. He simply laughs because he has aspirations of being a Cabinet Minister. Well the chances are that that might not happen. 
New Zealand First is encouraged by this Government’s commitment to supporting its supply and confidence agreement. That agreement goes one step further. We are not finished with only about 1250 police. We have an agreement to achieve ratios comparable with those in Australia by 2010 and our figures put that at around an extra 1640 police. So on one side of the House we have people who are moaning whingeing and whining—about not being in Government; that is the real crux of the matter—and on the other side of the House we have people who are getting on striking deals getting commitments getting funding implementing policies and making it happen. 
Who are the winners? The winners are the men and women who every day put themselves on the line to protect our communities. I tell National members to go and talk to police officers. One of the things coming through that gives me great confidence we will achieve those recruitment figures is the flow-on effect of officers knowing that stress levels and workloads will be reduced and that crime cases will get more scrutiny because more people are on stream. That in itself is giving an incentive to officers—who might well have thought of giving the job away—to stay on so that they can bring those new recruits through mentor them and make them good productive people. 
There are some issues that Labour and New Zealand First will continue to discuss and one of those will be the timed run for potential recruits. I do not think that it is sensible for a 37-year-old woman to be assessed on a standard stricter than that of the SAS or the Special Tactics Group. Mr Power is laughing. I challenge Mr Power to come and do the timed run with me. He should show everyone that as a law and order spokesperson who wants to lead by example he is capable of doing that run. I ask Mr Power to pass the run test with me despite the fact that he is probably half my age and then we will judge him by how he walks and not by how he talks.