11. Question No. 11—PoliceCHRIS BISHOP (National—Hutt South) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 11—Police11. CHRIS BISHOP (National—Hutt South) to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by all statements policies and actions of the Police in relation to the theft of 11 guns from the Palmerston North police station?Hon STUART NASH (Minister of Police): Yes.Chris Bishop: Did the police pay for the return of some or all of the eight guns that have now been recovered?Hon STUART NASH: I'm not going to provide a running commentary on the day to day operations of a police investigation. I am sure that police will provide updates as and when appropriate.Chris Bishop: I'll ask again. Did police pay for the return of some or all of the eight guns that have now been recovered?Hon STUART NASH: I will say again: that member will have to ask police for the background about how they recovered the firearms. Like previous Ministers of Police I do not receive advice that would prejudice an active case. I'm also not going to provide a running commentary on a live police investigation.Chris Bishop: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I draw your attention to Speakers' ruling 160/3 which is about operational matters. Now essentially what the Minister is arguing is that he's not going to offer a running commentary on something that is essentially an operational matter of the police. You sir I think have ruled in the past—and the Speaker's ruling I'm referring to is a ruling of Speaker Hunt in 2003 that Although a reply that something is an operational matter is strictly not out of order … on its own it is neither informative nor helpful. … a wider view is taken of ministerial responsibility." I think given the public—SPEAKER: No I don't need any help from the member. The Minister on both occasions referred to prejudicing ongoing police operations and I think that is a reasonable answer to the House.Chris Bishop: Was it his intention for his gun buy-back scheme to start with the police buying guns back that were stolen from them in the first place?Hon STUART NASH: Let me tell you what is not helpful and that is for that member to stand up in a public meeting and tell—[Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! I don't know if I want to hear it or not but I think the House has a right to hear it and we will.Hon STUART NASH: Mr Speaker thank you very much. Can I say it is not helpful for that member to stand up in a public meeting like he did last Monday and tell members of the public that police are "bullying people." That member should be supporting our good hard-working members of the New Zealand police force not undermining them.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question was about the Minister's expectations around the start of the buy-back programme; nothing to do with his commentary on a public meeting that some other member was speaking at.SPEAKER: Yes and I think that if it had been a straight question with no irony in it I would have been tighter and stopped the member when he said "No" at the beginning.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Speaking to the point of order if I might.SPEAKER: Have another point of order and then—Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well I note that it wasn't a ruling. So I'm just asking if in fact your assessment of there being some irony in his answer was because in fact the police did buy back the guns.SPEAKER: All I indicated was that there was irony in the question which meant that I was more liberal with the answer than I might have been otherwise. I've had some representations to be a bit looser and let things run a bit; that's what I was doing."