Andersen GinnyGinny Andersen (Chairperson of the Justice Committee): Thank you very much Madam Speaker. Thank you very much for the opportunity to briefly run through what the Justice Committee heard in relation to Vote Police during the Estimates session. Members heard a very good range of views and heard from the Commissioner of Police as well as the Minister of Police in relation to a range of issues. One of the main issues that was raised was in relation to gang crime and what the Government is currently doing in relation to countering some of the issues in the organised crime space. It was interesting for members to hear from both sides of the House what Operation Tauwhiro had set out to achieve from within baseline and how that as a pilot project would be continuing to be utilised to keep a check on organised crime and to restrain assets firearms illicitly gained items as well as illicit drugs.The Minister when she spoke highlighted the operation of Operation Tauwhiro and indicated how much had been seized over that project. There were 650 firearms seized over that period of time and also just shy of $3.5 million of cash and also a significant amount of methamphetamine seized. Police told us that as a result of that successful pilot scheme they would be extending the operation particularly against the use of firearms for violence. They explained that the operation has been prioritised throughout the organisation as this had shaped the work of several different business groups.The second main area that the committee heard about during the Estimates was Te Pae Oranga which is an initiative that has gained funding through the recent Budget. We heard that the commitment for $70 million in the operating for Te Pae Oranga will enable 14 additional panels to be put forward across the country. We're pleased to see that the programme had been given—it was actually $76 million to be exact in Budget 2021 and in that we heard about how the extra funding will be spent and where the value would be gained. It was also a question about what the role is of that in terms of intervening at the early stage the benefits. The Police Commissioner spoke in terms of reconciliation and acknowledging where the root of some of those initial offending had happened to make sure it got people on the right path and a different pathway to just prison which can often be the case in some instances.The third area that we heard about was seizing cash and assets from organised crime and in particular the way it was termed was hitting them in the pocket because that's where it hurts the most. In terms of what that was the committee heard about how there's a switch in onus how in the past if police were wanting to confiscate or restrain items that were potentially got through ill-gotten gains then the onus was always on the police or the investigating authority to prove that that had been gained in an illegal way and that's often quite difficult to do. So what new provision we'll make under the Government is that the onus is on the individual who's got the item to prove that they obtained that through a legal means and so that makes the ability to restrain seize those illegal items far easier for police to do.Also I'd just like to conclude by saying I was really heartened to hear how Police are continuing to improve efforts in reflecting our community by improving the diversity we have within the New Zealand Police. Police are tracking very well and I'm interested to hear more from the Minister if she'd like to explain how we will continue to move forward over the coming years to make sure that the police on the front line are able to engage and connect into communities from a wide range of backgrounds to make sure we're equipped in the areas of language and cultural expertise to make sure that police are working with communities and alongside and making those relationships that will last.We heard a range of other operations including Operation Trojan Shield but in relation to the activity we were very interested to hear how that ongoing activity particularly in relation to organised crime was tracking well. The committee had a robust and good discussion and I encourage other members to contribute to the debate but in general I would like to hear from the Minister in particular around the ongoing areas where we'd like to see an improving of diversity in terms of New Zealand Police.