Barker Rick: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Barker Rick: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:624;Page:19494] 
Hon RICK BARKER (Minister for Courts) 
: 
 This debate on the New Zealand Police has been very interesting and also very sad. The sad part about this debate is the lengths that a number of Opposition MPs will go to in order to attack the credibility and standing of the New Zealand police force simply for their own political gain. The police regularly publish statistics. No one has ever doubted them before until the statistics showed a very promising story that everybody should have celebrated. We all should have celebrated the fall in crime in New Zealand. We all should have said that it was good news. Instead what we heard from the Opposition parties was that the statistics were a lie—that the police had somehow fiddled the books to make things look good. What the Opposition parties were in actual fact saying was that the New Zealand police were telling lies to the public. Those parties were saying that for their own political ends. They were prepared to sacrifice the reputation of the New Zealand police force for their own political ends. 
I say that the facts stack up for the police for the truth and for the good work that this Government has done. It is a simple fact that burglary is now down to about 57500 offences a year a drop of almost 40000. The Opposition claims that that is not true. But the point is that if one is to claim insurance—as most people who are burgled do—one has to report the crime to the police. The insurance company will not pay out unless one does. So there is a very compelling reason for people to front up and say that they have been burgled. The fact is that 40000 fewer burglaries a year have occurred. There is a good reason for part of that decline which is that this Government has put an enormous amount of effort into reducing the level of unemployment. When people have jobs and are working and getting an income they will be less inclined to get involved in crime. The only person who does not believe that there is a connection between crime and unemployment is the former leader of the National Party. Everybody else says that unemployment and poverty lead to crime. We have reduced poverty reduced unemployment and put a huge amount of resources into the police. 
It is a fact that when I was an Opposition MP the police cars at Hastings had all done over 250000 kilometres. They were all clapped out; there was not a decent one amongst them. George Hawkins as the Minister of Police has upgraded the fleet. It is a fact that when I was an Opposition MP the local police did not have enough radio telephones and did not have good batteries—they were all failing. It is now a fact that the local police all have good equipment. There is no question about that. It is a fact that the local police station had torn carpet—it was a shambles. It is now a fact that the station is well equipped. It is also a fact that the number of people on the police payroll has gone from 8767 to 9847. That is over 1000 extra staff. Ron Mark says that there is a growing population and that is true. But the rate of increase in the New Zealand police force has been vastly greater than any population growth—over 1000 extra staff. The Opposition does not want to hear that. The fact is that the number of cases being cleared by the police—successfully prosecuted—has gone up dramatically. So crime is down the resolution rate is up and everybody in New Zealand should celebrate that. The only people who do not want to celebrate the good news are members of the Opposition parties. 
The fact is that we have invested more in forensic technology DNA testing etc. We now have some of the best equipment and best profiles in the world. We are doing an outstanding job. The Opposition should say that that is good that the Minister of Police has done an outstanding job that they support him for doing that and that they support the police force. But of course it will not. The Opposition wants to wreck the reputation of the New Zealand police force for its own venal political ends. That is the truth of it. The other fact is—[ 
Interruption 
] Mr Jones can say “Ooh” all he likes as if he has seen a ghost but he should go to the books and look at the financial records. He will see that in the last 4 years of the previous National Government it spent under $1 million a year on capital works for the police whereas in the last 5 years this Government has spent $73 million. There is no question about it; the police force was undercapitalised. George Hawkins has gone to the Cabinet table and argued for more money for the police and he has won the argument every time. The police have more resources better equipment better police stations more staff more technology and more of everything. Anything that the police wanted they got more of—there was no question about it. Over 1000 more staff have been taken on in 5 years. That is an increase in staff numbers of 200 per annum. No other organisation has gone up in that way. 
Report noted.