King Annette: Policing Bill — Third Reading 
King Annette: Policing Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:649;Page:18096] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Police) 
: 
 I move  
That the Policing Bill be now read a third time 
. As we have heard in earlier debates this week the bill contains the most significant legislative proposals on policing to come before this House in half a century and I thank the members of this House for the very constructive way that they have debated this bill in bringing it to this stage today. Fundamentally it is about renewing the New Zealand Police mandate to protect life and property to maintain law and order to prevent and detect crime to minimise crashes and to prosecute offenders. 
As a Government we have invested heavily in giving the New Zealand Police the resources needed to act on this mandate and we now have a record number of police officers with many more on the way. Many of them operate out of refurbished stations and are backed by new protective equipment. We have also encouraged a focus on tackling the root causes of crime by intervening early and effectively to stop the cycle of offending from getting started. Police have a critical role to play at the entry point of the criminal justice system and they are increasingly looked to for their ability to positively influence people especially young people away from a life of crime. We must ensure that our Acts and our laws actively support effective policing. This bill brings together aspects of existing legislation that it is appropriate to consolidate introduces some much-needed reforms and—where sensible—builds in flexibility for the future. 
I would like to briefly reflect on the process we used to develop this bill. I use the word “we” quite deliberately to indicate that this has been a journey shared by many New Zealanders from all walks of life as well as parliamentary colleagues across the political spectrum. There has been input from a broad array of agencies non-government groups academics and commentators from international bodies through to local community law centres and—critically—from the police service organisations and directly from front-line staff. All these voices have been heard as part of a wide-ranging conversation about policing. On the back of this highly successful public engagement exercise we have in this Policing Bill a powerful force for change. 
Today the Commissioner of Police has under his charge over 11000 employees—the largest single body of police personnel in our nation’s history. As the Policing Bill makes clear these men and women stand shoulder to shoulder with the policing efforts of our local volunteers our wardens private security workers and a wide array of local and central government agencies. The New Zealand Police is made up of ordinary men and women who take on a personal and professional responsibility to perform extraordinary tasks without fear or favour malice or ill will. Up and down the country police do remarkable and difficult work 24 hours a day 7 days a week often in situations where they have to put their own safety on the line. 
At a time so soon after the tragic death of Sergeant Derek Wootton killed in the line of duty it is appropriate to recall the sacrifices individual members of the police make for our protection. Although police are too often criticised few of us could do their job. Without dwelling on the negatives most of us will know it includes attending some of the most horrific scenes sometimes staying with bodies and having to break sad news to next of kin; any single occurrence being enough for most people to cope with at one time. We expect a lot of our police and all too rarely we give thanks and praise for their service. That is why it gives me great pride to present the Policing Bill back for its third reading because it contains measures that value our police and that will support them to do their best. 
Of all the issues in this bill there is only one that raised any controversy during the Committee of the whole House—the question of police officers as politicians. The Police Association has expressed its disappointment in the decision of Parliament but on the weight of the evidence provided to members of Parliament the majority of Parliament voted to exclude police officers from serving both as a police officer and as a local body politician at the same time. They are still able to serve on community boards as community board councillors and the five existing officers who are already councillors have been given the ability to continue in that role for as long as they are re-elected to the position. 
That was the only issue of major debate. There was overall agreement from across the political divide on the way forward and it means a lot when it comes to bringing legislation into this House to have that strong support from Parliament. The Policing Bill is a modern form of legislation that lays a solid platform for the New Zealand Police to contribute even more effectively to having Safer Communities Together. I warmly commend this bill to the House and I look forward to it receiving unanimous support.