Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:609;Page:6140] 
11.  
Hon TONY RYALL (NZ National—Bay of Plenty) 
 to the  
Minister of Police 
: Does he stand by his statement that “Police do not have a quota of tickets they’re supposed to give out every hour. There is no such quota.”; if so why? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Minister of Police) 
: 
 Yes because it is true. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: How then does he explain the Dunedin traffic unit commander saying that his officers are expected to issue an average of seven tickets each in a 10-hour shift the road policing inspector’s confirmation that he saw quotas as a staff performance monitor and published confirmation that the Tasman police district started ticket quotas from February this year; who should we believe: him or the front-line police officers who are operating the quota? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: I think the member should take notice of what the commissioner told the select committee on 28 May. He said: “We are about reducing road trauma not raising revenue. We are about productivity not quotas. We are about saving lives rather than currying favour.” The road toll is going down and I think that the commissioner is doing an excellent job. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: Can the Minister inform the House what the current state of the road toll is? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: I am advised that as at 8 a.m. on Monday 9 June the rolling 12-month road toll was at 414 compared with 426 for the previous 12-month period. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: On reflection that question was too wide of the original one. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: How does the Minister stand by his statement that there is no quota of tickets the police are supposed to give out when Dunedin’s traffic unit manager says that his officers are expected to issue an average of seven tickets each in a 10-hour shift when the road policing inspector confirms that he has quotas that are a performance indicator and when there is published confirmation that the Tasman police district started ticket quotas from February? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Because the commissioner has told me that that is their policy—that there is no quota whatsoever. I take the word of the Commissioner of Police rather than the word of the people the member has mentioned in his question. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Are we to disbelieve the reports of the Dunedin traffic unit manager that his officers are expected to issue an average of seven tickets each in a 10-hour shift; disbelieve National Headquarters’ road policing inspector’s confirmation that quotas are a staff performance monitor; and disbelieve the published reports that the Tasman police district started ticket quotas from February? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: I think the member should believe the commissioner. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Does he stand by his statement that there are no quotas on tickets to be given out every hour in the light of the fact that every police officer but the commissioner is on the record saying that there are quotas? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: I have not changed my mind since I answered the primary question. 
Ron Mark 
: I seek the leave of the House to table a document that confirms that road deaths have gone down over the period the Minister talks about but shows that there has been an increase in excess of 1400 injuries on the road despite the quota ticketing system. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Ron Mark 
: I seek the leave of the House to table a document that shows that one of the greater factors contributing to the reduction of road deaths has been improved accident and emergency services an improved Fire Service an improved St John Ambulance service and vehicle safety improvements. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: I seek leave to table a number of papers: one headed “South’s quota seven tickets a day” another headed “Government lifts traffic ticket quota” and a third report stating that the highway police pay is linked to ticket quota. These are news reports. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Is there any objection? There appears to be objection.