8. Question No. 8—PoliceARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 8—Police8. ARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa) to the Minister of Police: Does she stand by her statement It is my view that New Zealanders feel safer"; if so why?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN (Minister of Police): I stand by my full statement at the time it was given. It is important though to consider all statements in full and the context in which they were given. For instance I'm advised that in speaking with Today FM last year the National Party spokesperson for police was reported saying "When I was in police I was a police dog." [Interruption]SPEAKER: When you're ready the supplementary extra questions meter is ticking. [Interruption] I'm on my feet. That question's clearly designed for a purpose and the answer given was out of order. You have no responsibility for what a National Party MP has said. Mr Mitchell how would you like to move forward?Hon Mark Mitchell: If I could have a supplementary Mr Speaker—or two.SPEAKER: Well let's decide how many you get at the end of this process eh? Ka pai. Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: Point of order Mr Speaker. SPEAKER: Be careful.Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I just seek leave to table the transcript.SPEAKER: No no. I'm telling you to be careful because if you're taking a point of order to table something to support something that I've just ruled out then you're going to be in trouble.Arena Williams: What further steps has she taken to improve community safety?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I've previously spoken of the importance of police's operational independence and I respect this important principle. However if I did have the power to direct police I would be tempted to ask police to immediately begin an investigation into the wilful damage caused to Nicola Willis' tax plan which has been found absolutely full of holes. Further I would consider asking police to lay charges against the Hon Peeni Henare for the illegal possession of firearms—specifically "Gun No. 1"—SPEAKER: Order! I should have taken the shovel off you when I had the opportunity. No more supplementaries from the Government and the Hon Mark Mitchell can have two supplementaries.Hon Mark Mitchell: Thank you Mr Speaker. What does the Minister think Kiwis will think when they see the police Minister having a laugh while there has been a 30 percent increase in violent crime; a 40 percent increase in victimisations; a 60 percent increase in mental health crisis callouts; a 70 percent increase in gang membership; a 100 percent increase in retail crime; an over 500 percent increase in ram raids and aggravated robberies; brazen daylight smash-and-grabs across our cities; 17 days of horrific gang and gun violence resulting in five homicides; police response times blowing out; gang members taking over our roads and towns; record levels of assaults on police with our police officers now just focusing on getting through their shifts safely; shopkeepers afraid to go to work; our city CBDs too dangerous for people to walk in at night; and the fourth police Minister in 12 months defending gang members' right to wear patches?SPEAKER: I'll count that as the two questions. I just want one answer.Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I absolutely do not think that crime is funny but what I do think is that that member's performance during question time in this House since May has been a joke."