King Colin: Policing Bill — In Committee 
King Colin: Policing Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:649;Page:17869] 
COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) 
: 
 It is indeed a privilege to see the Policing Bill get through to the Committee stage. Back in 2006 the Minister announced that there would be a significant look at the Police Act and it was quite a celebratory occasion. A lot of police were around and it was a very positive time. 
I spent just a couple of hours at the Law and Order Committee and I can say that it was quite interesting to see complete engagement by all and sundry in the submissions process during the time I was there. It was quite interesting to hear Greg O’Connor speak on behalf of the Police Association. I had never seen him in person but I had seen him on TV a lot of times when there were issues around the police and he was taking the lead position on them. At the same time the select committee heard a submission on behalf of those who faced the processes for which the police are responsible. That submitter spoke about what was appropriate from the view of those who faced the courts and the justice system. Really when we think about the police we realise that there certainly is a national implication. There is an overarching need for an Act that is appropriate for the time for the age we live in and for the technologies we now have. 
Back in 1958—50 years ago—the norm would very much be the police constable on the beat with a baton and a set of handcuffs and away he would go. That was probably my first experience of the police as a young shearer in North Canterbury. I think the constable was Wattie Johnson. He had quite an impact on our behaviour and our growing up and we certainly behaved ourselves when he was around. 
When we think of those years from 1958 through to the commencement of this process of refining the Act and making it appropriate for the times we are living in we can think of some pretty tough times that the police have had to face such as Bastion Point and the Springbok Tour in 1981. Then there was the case of the sole-charge constable who paid the ultimate price in Ranfurly and lost his life in the course of doing his job. It helps us to understand even in the modern context of things the variety and range of situations that the police find themselves in. As Chester Borrows has pointed out—and he has a lot of experience—more often than not 99.9 percent of the time the decisions made by those wonderful New Zealand citizens who take up a role as police are right. 
It is wonderful to see the bill get to this stage. I want to look at one aspect of it. Clause 5 “Status of examples” states: “In this Act an example is only illustrative of the provision it relates to and does not limit the provision.” If we look back to the explanatory note we see that it talks about the roles of others. When we stop and think about policing in today’s context we know that it is very much about integration with the community the support of Maori wardens and the support of many other organisations that the police are actually able to leverage off so as to be able to build a community that we can all have confidence in. That confidence is very important because with confidence in the police force comes support and that support is very important with regard to the rule of law and order. 
It is fascinating to look at clause 10 which talks about that situation. It talks about the private security industry—I know I am going over into Part 2. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Marian Hobbs) 
: You are. 
COLIN KING 
: In terms of clause 5 “Status of examples” which is in Part 1 there have been considerable changes over time. So much has occurred over the last 50 years. It is also significant that New Zealand has been able to depend on the police force. The first police Act was in actual fact the Policing Act 1886 and no doubt when it was updated over time it was set to meet those needs.