Mark Ron: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Mark Ron: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:610;Page:7992] 
11.  
RON MARK (NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Police 
: Is he considering any initiatives to assist in combating immigrant crime; if so what? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Minister of Police) 
: 
 Police are proactive in developing initiatives to counter crime among New Zealand’s changing and diverse population. 
Ron Mark 
: How can the Minister continue to ignore the fact that further resourcing to combat immigrant crime is required when on one hand the Auckland police have reached the point of requesting a force of volunteer reserves to back them up in their struggle to fight crime among Auckland’s immigrant communities and on the other hand the Chinese Government is now expressing its grave concerns at the high level of Chinese crime in New Zealand? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Because the police are taking a number of actions. The Commissioner of Police is visiting Bangkok this week where he will discuss this matter with others including fellow commissioners. Several initiatives are also under way at a national level. The Auckland Asian crime unit recently outlined trends in the development of Asian crime at a conference of District Court judges and an Asian-organised crime investigation course is being held at the Royal New Zealand Police College this very month. There are so many initiatives and trends in which police are working with local communities and of course they are trying to recruit more people from across the spectrum so that problems can be dealt with. 
Mahara Okeroa 
: What success has the police had in clearing crime in recent years? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: The office of the commissioner announced today that the resolution rate for crime in the 2002-03 year is 43.7 percent—the best in over 20 years. We can compare that with the rates for 1991-92 under National when the resolution rate hit a low of 29.8 percent. I am happy and I think people should be congratulating the police. 
Brian Connell 
: Is it not a fact that one cannot do enough to combat immigrant crime or any other serious crime for that matter because the police simply do not have enough police officers as acknowledged by Commissioner Robinson in a memo to the Minister of Police dated 14 November 2002? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: The police now have the highest number of police officers—both trained sworn officers and non-sworn officers. Of course we note that when that member’s party was in power it tried to cut police numbers by 540. It failed. This Government has put the money in and I think we should be saying “Well done” to the New Zealand Police. 
Ron Mark 
: Why has this Government been so content to ignore the fact that the continual mass influx of people from a completely different culture causes problems for the police by way of language and cultural barriers and brings with it criminogenic traits of those particular cultures as evidenced by the fact that in 1 year the total recorded apprehensions of persons of Asian ethnicity for kidnapping offences have increased by over 700 percent? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: This Government is giving the police the resources so they can do their job without a racial bent and I am disturbed that some people seem to think that following a racial bent is the way to police New Zealand. It is not. 
Ron Mark 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Once again I seek your protection. I take absolute offence to the insinuations by that Minister that continuing to ask questions on immigrant crime is different to asking questions about Maori crime. That Minister should be brought back to answering questions without a racist slur. He should deal with the issue. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member should please contain himself. I rule in the member’s favour. The member took offence. The Minister will withdraw and apologise. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. What language is it permissible to use in this House of people who describe other people as having “crimino-genetic” traits determined by their racial background? 
Ron Mark 
: That member deliberately misinterpreted the word that I took from the Department of Corrections handbook which continually refers to “criminogenic” not “genetic” traits. The word is in the Minister of Corrections’ own handbook. The member should refer to it. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is a matter of— 
Ron Mark 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member should be seated. I am on my feet. That is a matter of taste and that is how I rule in that direction.