Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:628;Page:177] 
7.  
SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) 
 to the  
Minister of Police 
: 
 Does she stand by her statement that “You and I expect police to come straight away to us but there are some things with lower priority.”; if so which crimes does she consider to be of lower priority for police investigation? 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Police) 
: 
 Yes because the police have always prioritised incidents. New Zealanders expect the police to respond as quickly as possible to all incidents but inevitably they have to give priority to the most urgent cases. 
Simon Power 
: Why has crime been prioritised in the way set out in the Auckland district  
Investigations: Management Plan 
 whereby responding to ministerial correspondence is a mandatory priority but homicide and child abuse are lower priorities? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The police will always make homicide and child abuse a high priority indeed. However they are required to respond to inane questions that come from the Opposition week after week and if any blame needs to be sheeted home I suggest it go to the Opposition and maybe its members would like to stop asking such stupid questions. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The Minister is required to address the question. We heard a fair bit of bluff and bluster about the fact that the police respond to homicide etc. but the Minister of Police never addressed the question which was why—not once. For question time to work I suggest that Ministers must actually address the question that is asked. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Ruling on the point of order I listened very carefully to the answer. The Minister did address the question. 
Martin Gallagher 
: Can the Minister provide information on any specific recent cases where the police had to prioritise their resources? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Yes I can. The recent double murder investigation in Tauranga meant that the police had to allocate up to 39 staff from four different districts. Those staff were involved in investigations over a number of different days and they worked long hours. It is by no means unusual for the police to be faced with such demands on their resources. I congratulate those officers on the speedy apprehension of the alleged offenders. 
Simon Power 
: [ 
Interruption 
] So now when we are asking questions— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: You had not started asking the question. 
Simon Power 
: But I had been called at that point. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Would the member please proceed with the question. We are in the first week. 
Simon Power 
: Well that will make all the difference. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Yes it will. I made that comment because we are in the first substantive week of the session. If I picked up on every infraction we would probably get little done. So some tolerance is being given in the first week. I ask the member to please ask his question. 
Simon Power 
: Does the Minister support the non-assignment of files as part of her prioritisation programme; if so what does she have to say to the victims of the 600 unassigned cases—20 percent of the total case number—being held by the Auckland City Police District? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I would say to the victims of those 600 cases that the police will endeavour to get to their files as soon as possible. However they will prioritise the most important cases first. 
Simon Power 
: Why are police in the Auckland City Police District currently 50 investigators short in dealing with work in progress and what does that shortage do for the prioritisation of crime-solving? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The police always face difficulties in recruiting police for Auckland. That has been a problem over many years. What they are doing about it in fact is what this Government in conjunction with the agreement we have with New Zealand First is doing about it. We are recruiting more. In fact in the time we have been in Government we have recruited almost 1400 more police. Thank goodness this Government did; that was not the track record of the National Government. 
Ron Mark 
: Which of the following two does the Minister think will do more to resolve the problems in terms of the police being able to handle their workload and the resultant prioritisation task: New Zealand First successfully negotiating with the Labour-led Government for the introduction of an extra 1000 frontline police and New Zealand First having a re-evaluation of the possibility of de-merging traffic enforcement from the police; or our having to sit here and listen to Simon Power whingeing for another 3 years in Opposition? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I would say to the member— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I am having a great deal of difficulty hearing the reply. Would members please lower the tone. Everyone is entitled to hear the reply as they are entitled to hear the question. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I would suggest to the member who asked a very good question that he actually direct it to the National Party because those members would face a dilemma in answering it. But I suspect they will spend the next 3 years making 9 long years in Opposition whingeing and moaning and coming up with nothing positive. 
Simon Power 
: Is she aware of the number of victims who have practically handed the police their offenders on a plate—not the least of which are the number of stories that have come out via the  
New Zealand Herald 
 over the last 2 weeks—yet the police have taken no action as they are too busy writing her correspondence and licking stamps for her envelopes and what is she going to do about it? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I do not know what happened when the National Party was in Government but the officers in Auckland are not writing my correspondence licking my stamps or anything else. 
Simon Power 
: I seek leave of the House to table the Auckland City district  
Investigations Management Plan 
 that outlines giving priority to dealing with the Minister’s correspondence ahead of crime solving. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: I seek leave to table the assembled answers to parliamentary questions of the Hon George Hawkins in order to give the Minister a better guide. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table those documents. Is there any objection? There is. 
I just remind members that when points of order are taken they are normally heard in silence please. 
Peter Brown 
: I seek leave to table the details on the INCIS computer that National was going to use to solve the lack of policing in this country. 
Document not tabled.