Collins Judith: General Debate 
Text is subject to correction 
Collins Judith: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 01 August 2012. Volume:682;Page:4161. Text is subject to correction.] 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. What an extraordinary week it has been. We have seen something that I did not think was ever possible and that is that David Shearer has shifted his position on the fence. And he has done that—[ 
Interruption 
] I think it is the same fence. It is about mining. We have heard 4 years of Labour against mining and how we should turn ourselves into Australia except without the mining and all of a sudden we have got “No now we quite like mining. We are quite close to the Government.” I think that is what we heard from Mr Shearer or someone of his ilk. I never thought we would see it. But he is still not quite sure about it so he is going to check. It is extraordinary. Of course we ignored him because I mean why would you not? 
At the same time what we have seen from the Government is the Christchurch recovery plan which was delivered just the other day—a fantastic plan—and I would like to congratulate all the people involved in that. I can also say too that we have seen some announcements coming out. My colleague the Hon Steven Joyce is making an announcement today on industry training—a very very good announcement. We have also seen as part of the Christchurch rebuild the justice sector and emergency services hub. This is a first for this country. This will be building on the work of the justice sector from the Christchurch-Canterbury earthquakes where they learnt to work together where they learnt to pool resources. This is the way forward. 
That hub was announced and I think it is going to be a fantastic event a fantastic facility. We are going to have the police working together based in the same area; the courts are going to be just along the building; we are going to have the Department of Corrections there—that part of the prison service that does not actually involve the prisons—and we are also going to have emergency services like fire and ambulance. That is going to lead to not only obviously some efficiencies around funding but also some massive efficiencies around operations. It is looking at where we should be looking not these silos that we have always had under Labour before but actually looking at how we can deliver better public services. 
That is what we are getting on with. Unlike Labour which all week has been rolling around wallowing around in the mud we are getting on with the business that we were elected to do along with our support parties—United Future ACT and the Maori Party. I would like to thank them for the support that they have been giving us to get this programme through. 
In the meantime what we are doing in law and order is well in the justice sector just the other day the Prime Minister and I announced our Better Public Services justice sector plan. Yet again it is a plan to deal with the issues—a target around reoffending targets around crime. Of course the Opposition members might bellow and say: “Well it’s easy for National because National’s got the crime rate down to 1982 levels.” I did not hear them say that quite but they could say that because that is where it is at the moment. Under Labour all they did was build more prisons and not back the police and not back the Department of Corrections’ service. 
Instead what we have now are levels of confidence in the police that are I have to say even greater than those in general practitioners—doctors. The police are now the most trusted agency in New Zealand bar none. That has nothing to do with the state that Labour left them in under the Hon Annette King and others. It has everything to do with what this Government has done: backing the police giving them the powers letting them get on to do the job not second-guessing them and not doing what Annette King did the other day after one of those trials—the Urewera ones—where she bagged the police. She went on TV on  
Q+A 
 and said comments like they should be apologising. Well forget that Mrs King; not under this Government. We back the police. We back them to fulfil the law. 
When the police needed the Search and Surveillance Bill through did Labour deliver on it? No. That bill started in 2007 under Labour. Who got it through? This Government along with ACT and United Future got it through—got it through. And what happened? Crime has fallen to 1982 levels—1982 levels. I know that Mrs King loved the police and they did not mind her compared with some Ministers they had had before. But I have to say this: the police are in such great heart—they are in such great heart. 
The court system is being renewed and regenerated. I have a big announcement tomorrow—I am sure Mrs King will want to know all about that—it will be very appropriate. My colleague the Hon Chester Borrows is working very hard along these areas he is doing the most fantastic job of modernising the court system as well—