Ryall Tony: Urgent Debates — Police 111 System—Review 
Ryall Tony: Urgent Debates — Police 111 System—Review 
[Volume:625;Page:20457] 
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay Of Plenty) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of a matter of urgent public importance 
. 
It was 7 months yesterday that Iraena Asher disappeared. She dialled 111 at a time when she needed the New Zealand Police and she got a taxi. In the days that followed New Zealanders became more and more appalled at the sad story of her disappearance. After considerable pressure by this House New Zealand’s highest-paid public servant the Commissioner of Police was forced to launch an external review of the performance of the 111 system. 
Today 7 months and 1 day after the disappearance of Iraena Asher the bombshell has arrived. The report focuses the blame like a laser beam on the Minister of Police George Hawkins. This Minister has known for months and months how bad those call centres were. He stood in this House and told the Asher family the Bentley’s and the young woman who was sexually assaulted and told to walk to a police station that the New Zealand Police was adequately staffed—that it had all the staff it needed. 
This report says completely the opposite. This report says that the public and the police of New Zealand are at risk from a failing 111 system which that Minister is responsible for. He stood in the House to say and has said to all the victims of 111 calls that the police have all the resources they need. This report says exactly the opposite. This report says everything that we on this side of the House have been saying for the last 9 months—that the police are unable to respond to emergency calls that there is a complete lack of leadership that there is a complete lack of faith in the system and that the New Zealand Police and their front-line staff are at risk. This report reflects on the Minister and on the highest level of the New Zealand Police. They have let the public down. There needs to be accountability. Think of the victims of the 111 debacles. They deserve accountability and they deserve it from George Hawkins. This Minister has known about the failings of the 111 system. He did nothing about getting the additional staff needed. It is on his hands that New Zealanders are suffering from a complete breakdown in the police 111 system. 
This report says it all: that there is an inadequate service for New Zealanders that the system can never provide an adequate service for New Zealanders and that there is a risk of safety to the public and front-line police. It also says that urgent changes are needed to stop the erosion of public confidence in the 111 system and in the police. 
What did this Minister of Police do for 7 months? Absolutely nothing. Day after day we stood in this House and said to the Minister that the victims deserve a response. What did we get? For the first weeks the response was: “Oh this is just one exception.”; “This is now two exceptions.”; “This is only three exceptions.” Well this bombshell says that there is no exception. This Minister has let the country down through the most appalling neglect of his responsibilities. His job as Minister of Police is to get the resources for the police that they need. Here is what he told Parliament and said on television: “I take the rap when things start to break down.” That is what Mr Hawkins said—that he takes the rap when things start to break down. Well this report states that things have broken down irretrievably. 
I say to the Minister of Police that he has never taken any responsibility. He has never taken any responsibility for the fact that Iraena Asher disappeared. When she needed the New Zealand Police she dialled 111 and his service sent a taxi. When the Bentley’s were being bashed and dialled 111 and wanted their neighbours his service let them down. When the young woman was sexually attacked in Hamilton his service said: “Walk to the police station.” Is he going to take responsibility for any of that or will he be like the rest of this Government and wash his hands? 
In the last 24 hours this Parliament and this country have learnt that we cannot trust the Government on biosecurity that we cannot trust the Government on immigration and that we cannot trust a word the Prime Minister says—and this report tells New Zealanders that they cannot trust the 111 system when they need it most. This report is a huge bombshell on the Minister. For weeks he has stood in this House defending his position and saying that absolutely nothing was wrong that the police had all the resources they needed and that there was nothing to be worried about. But this report delivered today 7 months after Iraena Asher disappeared says it all. It says that the public and front-line police are at risk because of the 111 system. It is not working. This Minister is responsible for that. This Minister has failed to deliver the staff that the police need to do the job New Zealanders expect of them. 
The report details in a very very precise way a huge list of failures of leadership failures of resource and failures of management and it focuses responsibility for those failures like a laser beam on George Hawkins and the Labour Government. This is the Government that reappointed the Commissioner of Police for another 2 years. This is the Government that has endorsed the management of the Commissioner of Police. It has to take responsibility for what has happened. This report details accurately everything the Opposition parties have been saying for years—that this Minister has no idea what is going on in his portfolio and when he is told he ignores it. When he was told that the call centres are crying out for staff what did he do? There was no response. When he was told that New Zealanders are getting a poor service from the 111 system he said that it was all our fault for ruining confidence in the police; it was all our fault for ruining confidence in the 111 system. Well this report today makes it absolutely clear that that Minister of Police is absolutely incompetent. He is the worst Minister of Police this country has ever had. He has overseen a complete collapse in the New Zealand Police. Sixty-eight percent of New Zealanders do not have any faith in the New Zealand Police because of that Minister’s leadership. There is no leadership whatsoever. He had the opportunity 7 months ago to do something about this but he did nothing. 
It is even worse. Every month since the month Iraena Asher disappeared staff numbers in the call centres have dropped. We revealed that last month. Every month since Iraena Asher disappeared staff numbers in the call centres have dropped. Does that really say to us that the Minister of Police was determined to fix the problem? Does that say to us that he is determined to do something for the Asher family the Bentley’s or for the many other victims of the 111 debacle? Absolutely nothing. 
I make it clear to this House that the police need a fresh start new leadership and a Minister who knows what needs to be done to get them up and running again. The police need a Minister they can have faith and confidence in. They are not getting that with the Hon. George Hawkins but they will get it when the National Party leads the next Government in this country. I tell members that the Minister of Police in the next National Government will not allow that sort of nonsense to happen as it has under George Hawkins. Responsibility will fall where it should and that is on George Hawkins the Minister of Police under Helen Clark’s Government. Not only do we have a Prime Minister whose word we cannot trust we now have a Minister of Police who stood up in this House and said that the police had all the staff they needed. This report today makes it absolutely clear that they do not. 
The report talks about the management of the 111 centres being defunct. It states that there is evidence that police units are not making themselves available to respond to 111 calls that basic things like answering the calls are not being dealt with properly that radio channels are being linked when they should not be and that there is a lack of morale and confidence within the call centres. Those things have been apparent for months and that Minister and the Government have denied those problems all the time. We will get some huff and bluff about a few million that the Minister has decided to throw at the police under pressure of this report. Frankly 3 months before an election is just not good enough for George Hawkins to wake up to the problem that has been going on in the police. 
We have been saying for months that the problems in the 111 system are endemic and that the public and the police of this country are rapidly losing faith in the 111 system and the report states that is right. Yes this report states that more staff are needed and that leadership and direction are needed and what does this Government offer? It offers absolutely none of the essential stuff that is needed to fix the 111 system. A few million dollars is all too late. He should tell the Asher family why it took 7 months to do anything. He should tell the Bentley’s why if the police were adequately staffed they could not have their issue dealt with. He should tell the young woman in Hamilton who was told to walk to the police station after she had been attacked. He should tell the police that it is not right that one has to scream to get better service from the 111 system. This is what the people of New Zealand expect from the police and that Minister. It is a fundamental obligation of the Minister of Police to get the resources and to provide the service the people of New Zealand need. 
This Minister told the country that he takes the rap when things start to break down. This report today states that things have broken down and it focuses the blame like a laser beam on the Minister of Police George Hawkins. It is time he went.