Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:625;Page:19746] 
10.  
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay Of Plenty) 
 to the  
Minister of Police 
: How many staff will or are being brought in to help clear the backlog of cases at Counties-Manukau Police District and for how long? 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Police 
: I am advised that eight investigators have been allocated to the Counties-Manukau Police District to assist with the backlog of cases. Four began work yesterday and another four start next Monday 18 April. It is expected that those staff members will initially work in the district for up to 6 weeks and will significantly reduce the backlog. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: How on earth will eight officers clear a backlog of 1100 cases in around about 6 weeks and why does the Minister not reveal in the House today how many extra staff the Counties-Manukau police actually said they needed to do the job? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: I am sure the member will be delighted to know that the backlog he has mentioned had already been reduced by 200 cases before the additional staff were assigned. It is the decision of the commissioner as to how many staff may be needed and for how long. He has made his judgment. Unlike members on the other side who attack our top civil servants I am prepared to take his judgment. 
Martin Gallagher 
: Further to the Minister’s previous answer is it unusual for police resources to be moved around in order to meet changing operational needs? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: No. The commissioner has the ability to allocate his resources to meet operational demands and he regularly does that either across districts or across tasks. Within the Greater Auckland region there is also a board of management comprising the district commanders that regularly cooperates in sharing resources in order to meet the operational requirements of the region as a whole. That is just straight common sense. 
Ron Mark 
: Is the Minister not aware that the Counties-Manukau Police District has consistently been reported as having the highest turnover of staff that the average length of service of its uniformed staff gives it less experience than other districts and that when measured against the national average for officer to citizen ratio as at 17 July 2004 it was short of the national average by 183 officers; and how can the Minister believe that by the Counties-Manukau Police District being given 12 officers over a 2-week period it will seriously get on top of crime there? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: I will answer some of those questions. I cannot give a breakdown district by district but I can tell the member that the turnover of police staffing is much less than it was when that member was part of a National-led Government. Secondly staffing in the Auckland region is very good at the moment and the Commissioner of Police believes that by the end of the financial year the region will be staffed at levels above the numbers set out for the region. Thirdly let me say this: instead of bashing the Counties-Manukau police force the member should understand that the Counties-Manukau police force saw crime rates there come down by an astounding 11.3 percent over the last year and consistently improved its resolution of crime rate from 33 percent to 37 percent over the last 2 years—a better track record than when that member was associated with the National Government. 
Dr Muriel Newman 
: With regard to the issue of police resourcing why is it that under the Minister’s watch the Northern Communications Centre is so short-staffed that last week one inspector in charge of life-threatening situations in the North Island was forced to breach safe workplace practice by having only a 6-hour break between shifts? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: I am afraid that I cannot confirm what the member has said. Too often in this House we have the experience of members—and Mr Mark is one of them—standing up and making such claims and our finding consistently that there is no reality associated with the claims made. However if the member wants me to check it out she should please provide me with the information and I will do so. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: What is the Minister of Police’s explanation for the provision of only eight extra investigators instead of three times that number as recommended by the Counties-Manukau police? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: The decision about how many people should be allocated to help clear the backlog was made by the commissioner in consultation with the district commanders involved. The judgment was made that those eight additional investigators will significantly reduce the backlog. The facts are that already that backlog is down by more than 200 on the figures the member just quoted. That was a good record even before the additional staff were assigned. 
Martin Gallagher 
: For the historical record what additional resources have been invested in the police since the year 1999? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: The annual police budget since 1999 has risen by $160 million. I compare that figure with the $50 million that the Martin report was going to reduce police numbers by at the time that Tony Ryall was Minister of Justice. Police numbers have increased by over 1000 to 9815. We have the highest ever budget and the highest ever number of police officers serving in this country. The Minister of Police can be proud of that record compared with Tony Ryall’s deplorable record when he was Minister of Justice—[ 
Interruption 
] 
I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. Mr Mark interjected across the floor of the House that that was a lie. That is outside the Standing Orders and his statement is not correct. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Could the member withdraw and apologise. 
Ron Mark 
: Perhaps the Minister could tell us by exactly how many the number of police have been increased. He said over 1000. The House requires some justification of that. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Did the member shout across the House: “It’s a lie.”? 
Ron Mark 
: Yes I did Madam Speaker. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Then will the member please withdraw and apologise. 
Ron Mark 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. About three times in the sequence of answers that Mr Goff gave he criticised members of the Opposition for actions dating back even as far as the administration of 6 years ago. Frankly he was highly provocative. Then he said something that was demonstrably not true. That is my colleague’s point. With respect the Minister should get up now and tell us what the truth is or apologise himself for misleading this House. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order.