12. Question No. 12—PoliceHon MARK MITCHELL (National—Whangaparāoa) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 12—Police12. Hon MARK MITCHELL (National—Whangaparāoa) 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): The quote in the member's question is not my full statement and is a misrepresentation of my actual statement.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Point of order. Mr Speaker that response is clearly out of order. She cannot say that a question itself that has been ruled in order is a misrepresentation.SPEAKER: Given my ruling earlier today I agree. The Minister will stand withdraw and apologise.Hon Grant Robertson: Point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: New point of—I'll do the apology first. Stand withdraw and apologise.Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: Stand withdraw and apologise.Hon Grant Robertson: Point of order Mr Speaker. The question contains a statement that is not the full statement that the member made and therefore misrepresents the statement of the member. The fact that it has been accepted as a question does not change the fact that a partial statement misrepresents the statement of a member. If the question is to be allowed the Minister responding should be allowed to state the fact that it is a misrepresentation. I think that if partial statements that change the meaning of a statement are allowed then a Minister must have the right to be able to say that that misrepresents their view.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well Mr Speaker can I just say that you have ruled today—and I think very appropriately—and I just suggest to Mr Robertson that people like him and me should not try dancing on the head of a pin and particularly when you get the sort of result that you're seeing at the moment. It is quite clear that the Minister can respond—that might give clarity to why she said what she said.Hon Andrew Little: This is not a point of order.SPEAKER: This is a point of order and it will be heard in silence.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well thank you "Mr Speaker Andrew Little".SPEAKER: I've made my ruling; I'm not changing it. The Minister can address the question and the context of it—as I said in my ruling earlier today. The breadth to which the Minister does that is entirely up to her but he can't say what she says.Hon Mark Mitchell: Mr Speaker shall I ask that question again or—SPEAKER: No; I'm pretty sure she knows what it is.Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I stand by my full statement in the context of that time: "It is my view that New Zealanders feel safer with a Government on track to deliver 1800 extra police." As I noted yesterday this Government has now delivered on its commitment to deliver 1800 extra police. This Government has also passed new laws to tackle gangs by allowing additional warrants and search powers for gang conflict introducing a five-year prison sentence for discharging a gun with intent to intimidate and allowing greater ability for police and other agencies to seize cash. We've also committed to ongoing funding to keep the police ratio of one cop per 480 of the population. We've introduced an extended retail crime prevention programme and the fog cannon retail subsidy. We've introduced firearm prohibition orders to keep firearms out of the hands of those most dangerous New Zealanders who shouldn't have them. We've supported police to crack down on gangs and organised crime through Operation Cobalt which has seen over 38000 charges laid and nearly 400 firearms seized. We've introduced legislation to crack down on fleeing drivers including the ability to seize and impound vehicles. We've announced a nationwide roll-out of the tactical response model to better support front-line police in dealing with dangerous and high-risk situations. We've established and delivered a firearms registry to set and begin on 24 June—that's this month. We've created programmes like Kotahi te Whakaaro and Circuit Breaker to disrupt cycles of reoffending. We've passed new laws to seize criminal assets and targeted associates of organised criminal groups and forfeit illegal funds in their KiwiSaver. We've also invested $94 million into tackling gangs and organised crime through Budget 2022. We've established Te Tari Pūreke—Firearms Safety Authority—as a dedicated business unit within police to improve gun safety in Aotearoa. I could go on but I think I might save some more highlights for the next question. SPEAKER: Order! I'm on my feet. That answer was far too long. I didn't interrupt you—I was taking tally and deciding how many extra questions Mr Mitchell is going to get—two extra.Hon Mark Mitchell: Thank you very much Mr Speaker. When she says "It is my view that New Zealanders feel safer." who is she speaking for?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: That is not my full statement.Hon Mark Mitchell: When she says "It is my view that New Zealanders feel safer because we've delivered 1800 extra police officers." who is she speaking for?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: For myself. That's why I said it is my view.Hon Mark Mitchell: So just for clarity for the House when she says that New Zealanders feel safer she's just talking about herself?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: When I said it is my view that New Zealanders feel safer now that we have 1800 more police officers on the beat I believe that New Zealanders are safer than they were under a National Government when we had fewer police officers on the beat.Hon Mark Mitchell: Does she consider that she is gaslighting the public of New Zealand when she stands in this House and continues to tell the people of New Zealand that they should feel safer?SPEAKER: In so far as the Minister is responsible—you can address it if you like. You don't have to if you don't want to.Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: The only gaslighting going on in the House today is that member who continually misrepresents my quote.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Point of order. Mr Speaker we're now getting into some territory of the Minister openly defying not only the ruling you gave at the start of question time but the ruling you gave at the start of primary question No. 12. The second thing I would say is that if the Minister feels that she has been misrepresented there are ways to deal with that and this isn't that.Hon Grant Robertson: Speaking to the point of order. Mr Speaker again acknowledging the way in which you have chosen to run the House and that you have often said that it is up to members in the House to be able to behave responsibly within that framework it will be obvious to absolutely everybody in the House that Mr Mitchell's last supplementary question was completely outside Standing Order 390 and he should expect the kind of response he got.SPEAKER: Yep—and expect no relief from the Speaker. So if you've got another question.Hon Mark Mitchell: When the Minister says that she's met with shopkeepers that have been subjected to ram raids and that they now feel safer what's the number—how many has she met and how many have said that?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I have met with retailers in Auckland I have met them in Wellington and I've also met them in Christchurch. I'm happy to provide the member with a written account of each of those visits."