Tolley Anne: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTolley Anne: General Debate[Sitting date: 16 April 2014. Volume:698;Page:17327. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Police): This Government knows what is actually important to New Zealanders. This Government knows that what is important to New Zealanders is delivering safer communities. I have to say that I am proud to be part of a justice sector that is led by Minister Judith Collins as the Minister of Justice who is leading the justice sector Ministers and delivering safer communities to New Zealand.It has to be said that since David Cunliffe has become the leader of the Labour Party—albeit an invisible one—one thing I have noticed is that Labour has become far more critical of the justice sector. Despite the magnificent results that have been delivered by our justice sector by police by corrections and by the courts what we have had under DavidCunliffe’s watch is a questioning of the crime statistics a questioning of corrections methodologies and in fact a questioning of the fantastic results that the justice sector has delivered.Opposition members are actually all about facts and figures. They are all about dollars and they are all about numbers of people. Those sorts of things are important to them rather than what exactly is happening on the ground for ordinary New Zealanders. So what this Government has done is focus its resources on being as effective as it possibly can—Sue Moroney: Out of touch—being out of touch.Hon ANNE TOLLEY: —and delivering results for New Zealanders. Yes the member over there talks about being out of touch. If it is out of touch to see crime dropping and fewer victims in our community then I would much rather be on the National side of the House delivering those sorts of results than on the Labour side of the House which had the record of seeing crime going up and predictions of 11000 people languishing in our prisons with no education very little drug and alcohol treatment and certainly no qualifications or job skills.So what have we done? Well I will tell the member because she might like to listen and learn something. With police we have changed the focus in police from just reacting to crime to getting out there and preventing crime. We have encouraged and worked with the police to work smarter so that they stop crime happening. How have we done that? Well we have done that through things like introducing technology. We have given themsmartphones andiPads to use so that they can be out there on the job and not have to go back into the office to carry out paperwork which is what grew into enormous proportions under Labour.And what did Labour do in response to that—what was Labour’s response? Labour members played the man. They actually went out and attacked the deputy commissioner who led that roll-out of technology. That is how it reacted to that amazing—amazing—transformation of our police which is delivering great results.We have seen much more visible policing under this Government. There is a 155 percent increase in foot patrols which means that all over New Zealand people are saying to me: “Gosh the police are out there on the streets. This is fantastic. We’re seeing our local cops out here on a Saturday night walking up and down the streets.” It did not happen under the Labour Government. It did not happen. So what did Labour members say in response to that increase in foot patrols? I will tell you what they have done. They have complained about the police kiosks. They want to see uniformed police sitting behind the counter waiting for the victims to turn up and complain. That is whatthey did. Instead of saying: “This is great police. You are out there preventing crime being visible on the streets.” they want them stuck back in the police stations sitting behind counters filling in paperwork and waiting for the victims to turn up.Well this Government is backing the—Hon Annette King: This is rubbish and dishonest—rubbish and dishonest.Hon ANNE TOLLEY: We are backing the victims in this Government. When that member was the Minister of Police Labour did not have the focus on victims that we have.So what has the result been? Well in 2013 there was another 4.1 percent drop in crime—the fourth year in a row that we have seen recorded crime drop. We are down to—Sue Moroney: It’s been dropping for decades.Hon ANNE TOLLEY: No it went up under Labour.Sue Moroney: It’s been dropping for decades.Hon ANNE TOLLEY: It went up under Labour. You do not know your statistics. That is another thing. This Government has seen crime drop to the lowest in 29 years. That is a National Government delivering what it knows New Zealanders care about—safer communities.