Bindra Mahesh: Budget DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBindra Mahesh: Budget Debate[Sitting date: 02 June 2016. Volume:714;Page:11651. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MAHESH BINDRA (NZ First): I am afraid my speech is going to be less entertaining than my colleague Fletcher Tabuteau’s. It is about a more serious matter.Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Speak within the rules and we will be happy.MAHESH BINDRA: Last month about 200 members of the South Auckland community mainly small-business owners got together in South Auckland and it took a radio station to bring those people along because the Government was not worried about their safety. These people were actually angry and frustrated and their frustration and their anger were really palpable at that meeting. We hoped at the meeting that we would be able to take some of their concerns to the Government and we were hopeful that the Government MP present there would also contribute towards it. That does not seem to have happened because after the Budget was announced those hopes were shattered. The hopes of that community were shattered because there was nothing in that Budget to address the crime situation—the law and order situation—particularly in South Auckland.In this Budget we have noticed that a paltry $8.5 million has been allocated for police primary response management. The police response as it is at the moment is appalling. The police response time is appalling. A particular incident I knew of because I had visited that victim and that victim was also present at that meeting. Although he has started back at work he is still scared and he is worried about his safety. His concerns have not been addressed in this Budget and there are many more like him.What actually happened was that a few months ago three offenders raided and burgled a liquor store in Takanini at 7.30 in the evening. The store owner’s friend followed the offenders when they escaped. The closed-circuit television cameras had the evidence. The store owner’s friend then followed those offenders to their hiding place took the car registration number took the address of that property and gave it to the store owner who in turn then informed the police. This was at about 7.50 p.m. which means that within 20 minutes of that incident the store owner informed the police that he had the evidence he knew where the offenders were and he said that he wanted the police to act then. So the police replied: “Look we don’t have enough staff numbers to go with you and search that property and besides that we don’t have a search warrant for that property.”The same offenders at 9.50 p.m.—that is 2 hours later—went to a Manurewa address another liquor store and stabbed the store worker there. They stabbed him five times. Those were serious wounds and I have personally seen those wounds. So the police reacted then at 9.50 p.m. Had they acted on the previous complaint which was at about 7.30 p.m. the second incident would not have happened. The second victim could have been saved. But that did not happen and nothing has happened in this Budget to correct that situation. That will happen again because there is no mention of police numbers being increased in this Budget.On the contrary as we know our population has increased by 6.5 percent since 2012. However taking into consideration the inflation rate—4.7 percent—there has been an increase of only 1.8 percent and that is not going to help the 6.4 percent crime resolution rate that we have at the moment—just 6.4 percent resolution of violent crimes. That is not good enough and neither is this Budget.