Hayes John: Policing Bill — In Committee 
Hayes John: Policing Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:649;Page:17877] 
JOHN HAYES (National—Wairarapa) 
: 
 Before I address the issues in Part 2 that I would like to draw to the attention of the Committee I commend the Minister of Police for the work she has led on this bill. I also commend her for quite a solid approach in the Wairarapa electorate where together we have been present when new police facilities have been opened in places like Norsewood. Some quite fine senior police officers particularly from Palmerston North have been covering that central area. One of them has moved on unfortunately but I offer my congratulations. 
I also draw the attention of the Committee to the police code of conduct and the work done on that by Dame Margaret Bazley who is resident in Carterton in my electorate. She has done a very fine job. She is a very fine New Zealander and I particularly thank her for this work. 
I now address the bill and the questions of organisation and governance of the police which Part 2 covers. If we are to have a police system that works in provincial New Zealand then the first thing it must have is a telephone system that works. I get complaint after complaint because people telephone their police station in Featherston Greytown Carterton Patangata or Porangahau and they are put through to an operator who is located somewhere else in the country and has no understanding of the area in which the caller is located. It is all very well setting up this legislative framework and replacing 50 years’ worth of legislation and 25 previous amendments but we have to have a system that works on the ground. 
The second point I would make is that a system that works on the ground depends on having good leadership in our police force and that can be variable particularly in provincial New Zealand. I would urge the commissioner and the Minister to keep a close eye on that issue. The third point is that we have to have a system that is responsive. There is no point in having a police station in Carterton that is open only occasionally then resisting for 3 years the representations of the local Mayor Gary McPhee and then eventually agreeing to appoint an administrative officer—a public face—who can keep the station open from 9 to 5 which is what we now have. My problem is that it should not have taken 3 years to achieve that. 
I refer now to clause 9 “Functions of Police”. I suggest to the Minister that she review this clause carefully because it strikes me that the first job of our police which is law enforcement is currently listed as paragraph (c). Personally I would like to see that as the first item. My second concern is that the second function of the police in terms of order of importance would be crime prevention which is currently listed as paragraph (ca). The third issue ought to be community support and reassurance followed by keeping the peace which is currently in paragraph (b). 
I then feel that paragraph (f) “participation in policing activities outside New Zealand:” should be dropped to the bottom of the list because emergency management here in New Zealand is clearly far more important than providing resources offshore. It is not that I am opposing providing resources offshore; I just think it should be the final item in the order of principles and I ask the Minister to provide for that. I do not want a Supplementary Order Paper on this matter but I ask her to reflect on the logic of the order of police functions in this legislation. If the Minister wants me to produce a Supplementary Order Paper then of course I will. 
I particularly support clause 10 “Roles of others acknowledged”. In our communities we have not only Maori wardens but also community watch groups because our communities are often small—2000 or 3000 people. We have local groups which are generally made up of older people that come together to keep a watch in our towns through the night and they have ready access to our local police officer. 
I have some slight reservations about Subpart 2 when reflecting on the Prime Minister’s interference in the departure of former Commissioner of Police Peter Doone. I am not sure whether clause 12 “Appointment of Commissioner”—whereby the Governor-General may on the recommendation of the Prime Minister appoint the Commissioner of Police—completely removes the possibility of a situation like the Doone fiasco arising again.