Borrows Chester: Appointments — Independent Police Conduct Authority 
Borrows Chester: Appointments — Independent Police Conduct Authority 
[Volume:650;Page:19272] 
CHESTER BORROWS (National—Whanganui) 
: 
 I can understand that Madam Assistant Speaker. Before I commence an endorsement of these nominations with similar comments to those of my colleague Mr Power I say that unfortunately I was out of the House yesterday afternoon but I did manage to hear your valedictory speech and I appreciated it very much. Unfortunately I did not get to hear the valedictory speech of Jill Pettis yesterday afternoon but I will check up on it. I did sneak in unseen to the Government side of the Chamber the other night and left a little bottle on her seat with a card wishing her all the best. Jill and I first met up shortly after 31 October 1998 when I was selected as the National Party candidate in Whanganui; we have been doing battle ever since. I must admit that attending a Grey Power meeting yesterday afternoon without Jill and her melodic tones and without banter from Warren Pettis Dave Vallely and various other members—who no doubt were in the gallery yesterday afternoon—made the meeting a fairly tame situation. 
In any event I rise to speak in support of the nominations of Allan Galbraith and Mel Smith in respect of the Independent Police Conduct Authority. I will make a few comments in respect of former Assistant Commissioner Allan Galbraith who was the regional commander of the central region region 3 for a number of years—I was one of his lowly subordinates—but who is probably best known for his investigation of the  
Rainbow Warrior 
 homicide. That police operation is probably our biggest internationally recognised operation. It is interesting to note that the main reason the two offenders were in custody so quickly revolved around the fact that like true Government servants having completed what must have been a multimillion-dollar operation in coming over here to blow up the  
Rainbow Warrior 
 they got caught because they hung around to pick up the $167 deposit on their motor home. If they had left the motor home in a car park and just disappeared they probably would not have been caught. However that inquiry escalated very quickly initially to 56 staff and then to well over a hundred as the police ran an operation that took place right around the country but largely in Northland and around Auckland as they sought to complete the inquiry. They did that and it then led on to huge international repercussions for New Zealand as part of the ongoing stance that New Zealand took in respect of nuclear weapons right around the world. Mr Galbraith’s role in that was significant. The contribution he made to the New Zealand Police over 37 years was huge and he is well respected within the rank and file and within the administration and the hierarchy of that organisation. 
I must also endorse the comments of my colleague Simon Power in respect of Mel Smith. His reputation and forbearance is well regarded. The respect he is held in as a result of his role as Ombudsman adds very much to the role that he now takes on in the Independent Police Conduct Authority. As someone who has had quite a bit to do with that authority in the short time I have been in Parliament I also have to agree that the public perception of the Independent Police Conduct Authority has been hugely enhanced from what it was previously. That has a significant amount to do with the force of personality of the authority Justice Lowell Goddard and also of the deputy authority Mike Lance but the experience of Allan Galbraith and Mel Smith added to that will certainly bring confidence from the public to the authority’s ability to deal independently to investigate on its own motion and to bring to a conclusion in a speedy and fair way those complaints that have already been laid before it. I believe we have already seen that confidence after a number of reports that the authority has reported back to the New Zealand Police and released publicly. The scrutiny for instance in the way the authority looked at the issues raised in respect of the police reporting on themselves and a number of initiatives that the authority has raised recently have only enhanced the public’s view of the authority and its independence. 
So I look forward to seeing what the future holds in respect of these members of the authority and I am pleased to be able to endorse their appointment for 3 years. I wish them all the best for the future.