11. Question No. 11—PoliceHon MARK MITCHELL (National—Whangaparāoa) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 11—Police11. Hon MARK MITCHELL (National—Whangaparāoa) to the Minister of Police: Does she stand by her statement I reject the premise that gang tensions have increased under this Government's watch"; if so how does she reconcile that with reported police intelligence which states parts of the country have experienced unprecedented levels of gang violence in the past year?Hon POTO WILLIAMS (Minister of Police): I stand by the full context of all my answers at question time. In answer to the member's second question gangs have been a feature of New Zealand society for well over half a century. What police intelligence shows us is that the arrival of 501s in 2015 has fundamentally changed the nature of gangs making them much more overt and sophisticated. This Government has no tolerance for gang violence and that is why we will continue to support police in their work to crack down on gangs by deploying 700 more organised crime staff and passing legislation to give them more tools to address gang violence.Hon Mark Mitchell: Does she agree with Auckland Labour list MP Helen White who wrote an article claiming gang activity—[Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! Who was that? [Interruption] No no it was someone—Hon Mark Mitchell: It was up the back there Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Which member interjected?Simon Court: Mr Speaker I withdraw and apologise.Chris Bishop: Point of order. Fair's fair Mr Speaker. Last time you took one off the ACT Party. Could we have that one back please?SPEAKER: The trouble is that they are finished for the day. Have they got any left tomorrow? [Interruption] All right well the ACT Party lose one of its three questions tomorrow. David Seymour: Point of order Mr Speaker. I'd like to speak in favour of Chris Bishop's earlier point of order that you shouldn't remove a question for such a trivial interruption.SPEAKER: Some people say that consistency is the last refuge of fools but I'll stay consistent with this one. Mark Mitchell you now have an extra supplementary which I think gets you to four.Hon Mark Mitchell: Does she agree with Auckland Labour list MP Helen White who wrote an article claiming gang activity had increased in Auckland when just two days before the article was published she told the House she rejected the premise that gang tensions had increased under this Government's watch?Hon POTO WILLIAMS: I have said consistently this Government is concerned about crime and that's why we boosted police funding by $450 million and deployed an additional 300 organised crime staff. Ms White acknowledges the impacts of COVID-19—that that has had on Auckland and that is why the Government has provided a range of supports to those affected. It's also why we've put an additional 360 police on the beat in Auckland since we came to Government and set up the retail crime unit.Hon Mark Mitchell: Is it correct that from January 2021 only 13 net new organised crime staff have been recruited?Hon POTO WILLIAMS: What is correct is our commitment to ensuring we have sufficient cops on the beat and they have sufficient resources in terms of funding and equipment and legislative tools. We are well on the way to meeting our targets for 1800 new police 700 being deployed into organised crime.Hon Mark Mitchell: Point of order Mr Speaker. I don't think I can get that question any more tighter and it was very specific.SPEAKER: And the member knows if he asks a general first question he can't expect the Minister to answer a specific supplementary. Just mentioning gangs is not enough to expect the Minister to come prepared with a detailed response to a very specific question.Hon Mark Mitchell: Why under her watch are gangs regularly taking over public spaces and roads abusing and putting members of the public at risk?Hon POTO WILLIAMS: There's no doubt that gangs are a feature—a harmful feature—of our communities and that's why this Government is committed to giving police the tools to crack down on gangs and gang crime. Funding 700 more organised crime staff deploying the tactical response units—and that's why we've introduced legislation to give police more tools.SPEAKER: Does the member want to use the final supplementary?Hon Mark Mitchell: Thank you Mr Speaker. SPEAKER: No obligation.Hon Mark Mitchell: Have 501s increased gang tension in New Zealand?Hon POTO WILLIAMS: Let's not forget that Australia's exporting of this gang problem to New Zealand began under National in 2015 and they responded by cutting the number of cops on the beat and we are playing catch up. I agree with Christopher Luxon that 501s are changing the nature of gangs in New Zealand and that is why we are funding the largest ever increase of organised crime staff tightening up our gun laws and increasing the police budget by more than 30 percent."