Mark Ron: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Mark Ron: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:620;Page:15580] 
3.  
RON MARK (NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Police 
: Does he have any concerns that police face impediments to working collaboratively with other Government agencies and the public to ensure community safety? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Leader of the House) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Police 
: Generally no. 
Ron Mark 
: How acceptable is it to the Minister in the case of Jesse Moore who killed his father’s former partner only hours after he was freed on bail for attempting to kill his workmate for the arresting officer to state: “From my point of view this was a totally preventable homicide. If they had kept him in done the assessment recognised there was [a history of] bipolar disorder—there was no reason for that woman to die.”; if it is what does he intend to do about it? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The statement was made by a senior police officer and clearly he felt there was a failure in the mental health system. That—problems with the mental health system—is of course not the responsibility of the Minister of Police. There is certainly no objection to be taken to the statement made by the police officer. 
Ron Mark 
: Has the Minister read the police statement of intent that gives a commitment to “ensuring communities are adequately protected from crime through a whole-of-Government response that fits within the framework of the Crime Reduction Strategy.”; and can he tell the House how a totally preventable homicide was able to occur given that rather noble statement? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think that statement does represent the view of the Government. Judgments occur within the system and sometimes those judgments are wrong and sometimes those wrong judgments have tragic effects. That clearly was the case in this instance.  
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Who will be held accountable for the granting of bail in this case? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The police opposed the granting of bail in this case supported by the family. Clearly in the end the responsibility lies with the courts in the granting of bail. 
Ron Mark 
: Is it not a fact that the reason we are seeing totally preventable homicides committed such as in this case and the McNee case is because the Minister by his own admission takes no active interest in his portfolio asks no questions of the police regarding cases of high public interest does not lobby vigorously enough to have changes made in other departments that affect policing and indeed is quite divorced from policing to the extent that he is about to be replaced? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: No but what the Minister will not do is act illegally. As long ago as March 1993—and I would be interested to know what the circumstances were for the Solicitor-General being asked for this opinion—the Solicitor-General stated at that point in terms of the constitutional relationship between the Commissioner of Police and the Minister of Police: “The Minister may not direct the Commissioner in the latter’s duty to enforce the criminal law either in particular cases or classes of case.”