Jones Shane: Policing Bill — In Committee 
Jones Shane: Policing Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:649;Page:17876] 
Hon SHANE JONES (Minister for Building and Construction) 
: 
 Tena tatou katoa. There is something I must correct for those of our citizens listening. Hone Harawira a member of our Maori Party was not preparing to swear at the police; he was being challenged and invited to give the oath that swears allegiance to the principles that underlie the police. As I stand I will make particular mention of a man who on our marae in the North embodies the finest sentiments and qualities of our police force—Paddy Whiu. He is soon to be honoured for his long length of service and if there is anyone who is a walking living—if slightly rotund—example of good policing in our Maori community it is Paddy Whiu. Of course I will not make the reference of rotundity to his face. 
This bill is dealing with policing challenges in the time in which we live and the binary nature of New Zealand society has passed us by. Of course those of us who come from the tangata whenua are proud of our heritage and our inheritance but the police whilst recognising that have to deal with pluralism. They have to ensure when they exercise the force of law countenanced by the highest court in the land—this Parliament—they do it in such a way that they enjoy legitimacy through consent. So their activities must be endorsed. Their activities are to keep the peace. Admittedly there are great debates on our marae particularly on those of Tuhoe—although they seem to have come to their senses and signed a deal. They are moving on from the dust that was stirred up in Ruatoki but other fora will have to deal with that—and God bless them! So in the notions of our being a diverse society and our having to deal with the presence of new religions and the challenges of our rangatahi there should always be an awareness of the police that says “Yes we will deal with pluralism but at the end of the day if you consistently break the law and if you want to continually involve yourself in crime you will end up in the hinaki and do the time.” 
Earlier our colleague from Whanganui made a very important point: the police are required to make decisions in very trying circumstances but those decisions can change the course of a person’s life. If they are egregiously offbeat they can change the course of that police officer’s life. If they are made in a spirit of intemperateness or without the right information they can blight a citizen’s life. That is why in our free democratic system under the careful stewardship of the Government—which will persist for a long time to come—they must sit under the rule of law. That is why despite the changing times the ebb and flow of birth rates and the arrival of different ethnic groups the rule of law has to exist beyond the shadows beyond the anxieties of any particular group because underlying civil society the rule of law is one of the deeper principles that bind us together. 
This Policing Bill I think is built not only on the efforts of the originators of its thinking and of reformers but on fresh ideas. I heard my colleague Mr Gallagher refer to one of those ideas. I would like it recorded that one of the most sensible ideas in interacting with our people te Ao Maori has been the reform and closeness of our Maori Wardens working with the tari pirihimana our police officers. Our Maori wardens realise that they can interpose themselves because not all the rangatahi are happy about the police. Indeed I have seven kids of my own and they have told one or three tales that are best left unstated. But the Maori Wardens are able to intervene and they are being developed—[ 
Interruption 
] Far be it for me to invite my two parliamentary rugby golden oldie players to tell stories about the French police—no no! We are focused here on Aotearoa. 
Chris Tremain 
: What goes on tour— 
Hon SHANE JONES 
: What goes on tour stays on tour. That is a nuclear button buddy—do not forget that. However in rounding up this small contribution I tell the Committee that the police must be very mindful of biculturalism. But as South Auckland shows the reality is our population now comprises so many more different races and ethnic groups but the police operate under the rule of law and a system countenanced by this Parliament that recognises that no member of the police force or individual is beyond the rule of law. Kia ora tatou katoa.