12. Question No. 12—PoliceBRETT HUDSON (National) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 12—Police12. BRETT HUDSON (National) to the Minister of Police: What is the number of net new sworn police added to the force when taking into account attrition since 26 October 2017 and where have they been deployed?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety) on behalf of the Minister of Police: Thank you Mr Speaker. On behalf of the Minister I thank the member for his question which allows the House to celebrate the graduation today of the 1825th new police officer since this Government took office. That brings the net number of police officers up by 1000 since October 2017 which is an 11.3 percent increase in the number of front-line officers. Now to the second part of the member's question Northland gets 96 new cops; Auckland gets 707 new cops; Waikato gets 158; Bay of Plenty you get 146; central gets 153—SPEAKER: No no. Order! [Interruption] Order! I realise that this is not a Government patsy question but it is going on for too long.Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This was a primary question set down. The member deserves the full answer.SPEAKER: Yeah and I have ruled that the answer is too long.Brett Hudson: Does he stand by his answer to a written question that on 1 November 2017 just five days after the Government took office there were 9016 front-line officers in the force?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: On behalf of the Minister I'll have to take the member at his word that that is what the written answer said and I can only assume that it is correct.Brett Hudson: What is the number of front-line sworn officers on the force as of today?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: The police constabulary stands at 9838 officers. That is an increase of more than 11 percent since the start of the 2017-18 financial year.Kieran McAnulty: In reference to the answer to the primary question what did other regions receive?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: Oh thank you very much. The—SPEAKER: The member may give us two or three examples.Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: —eastern region received 61 new police officers the Wellington region received 200 new police officers and the Canterbury region received 171 new police officers. I could go on.Kieran McAnulty: In reference to that answer does the Minister have any other examples that he can provide the House?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: Just two more: the Tasman district received 24 new police officers and the southern district received 109 new cops.Brett Hudson: Given the Minister's answers what does 9838 officers less 9016 officers equal in the number of front-line officers?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: The difference between those two numbers is what it equals. But the point I would make to the member is that since the beginning of the 2017-18 financial year there has been an 11 percent increase in the number of front-line police officers to a record total number of 9838.Brett Hudson: Shouldn't the Minister therefore thank the National Government for the officers that they delivered while in Government that he's now claiming?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: I think what the good people of New Zealand should thank the coalition Government for is the fact that today there are more police officers on the beat on the front line than ever before.