Mark Ron: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Mark Ron: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:623;Page:18671] 
11.  
RON MARK (NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Police 
: Can he confirm that a Budget bid was made on 14 November 2002 by the police commissioner for an extra 100 fulltime-equivalent staff in Auckland for the specific purpose of improving response times particularly emergency response times; if so what was his response to that request? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Minister of Police) 
: 
 A bid was made for 100 extra staff to be deployed over 3 years. Initial bids are almost always scaled during the Budget process. The commissioner did get an extra 50 staff over 2 years. The commissioner has been given over 1000 additional staff and $200 million extra in his budgets by this Government since 1999. 
Ron Mark 
: Has the Minister reconsidered his original position given that the Government was warned by the commissioner more than 2 years ago that the response rate to emergency calls in Auckland was substandard and if he has not how can he continue to pass the blame on to individual police and the commissioner when it was clearly him and this Government that failed to act and that failed the Bentley and Asher families? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Chief executives always put up Budget bids knowing that they will not get all that they ask for. However I have to say that the response rates in the Auckland area generally have improved. 
Dave Hereora 
: How many of the more than 1000 extra police staff provided by this Government since 1999 have been deployed in Auckland? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Of the 1000-plus additional police staff appointed since the Labour-led Government was elected in 1999 370 have been deployed to Auckland. That is why the crime rate is the lowest it has been for the last 21 years and that is why the road toll is the second-lowest since the 1960s. And more good news is on the way. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: If as the Minister told the country today the police have all the staff they need does that mean they have enough staff to provide a 111 service that can minimise the risk to the public? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: The police are well provided for but they can always do with more and that is why we have Budget rounds. 
Ron Mark 
: Is it not a fact that the reason he refused to give the police the numbers they asked for in terms of their emergency response was that this Government’s focus is on traffic policing which is evidenced by the fact that 76 percent of all newly funded sworn staff since 2002 were “ring-fenced for road policing” as stated in a report from the commissioner to the Minister dated 21 November 2002? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: No. I seek leave to table two documents. The first one sets straight the record of the Southern Communications Centre response to 111 calls made in the House last week. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: The other document concerns the policy not to pull detectives off serious investigations. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Is that a press release? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: It is a press release from the office of the commissioner. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is. 
Ron Mark 
: I seek the leave of the House to table a report from the Commissioner of Police to the Minister of Police on issues relating to policing in the Auckland area dated 21 November 2002. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is.