Hawkins George: Policing (Involvement in Local Authority Elections) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Hawkins George: Policing (Involvement in Local Authority Elections) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 22 June 2010. Volume:664;Page:12040. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Labour—Manurewa) 
: 
 The Labour Party supports this bill and I thank the Minister of Police for bringing it to the House. I will wait for just a second as I thought a bolt of lightning would hit me for saying that but nevertheless it has not. I think this legislation is very important because it will clear up many uncertainties. With the Auckland legislation having gone through the House people who are police officers have been wondering whether they can stand for election and whether the grandfathering rights they had will still prevail. I have talked to people in the House about this and I must say that I am pleased that this has happened. 
We have people in Manukau who serve the council who also serve the community as police officers. Councillor Alf Filipaina is a councillor for Manukau in the Mangere ward and he does great work with young people especially. Being a police officer does not restrict him in his council work. Very sensibly he has the ability to not involve himself in voting on certain by-laws and things like that but also he is a person who does very important crime prevention work. The Counties-Manukau Police District is not the easiest area to police. It needs people who know their community and I think that Alf Filipaina does. It may sound a wee bit like a party political speech to sing his praises but he is a person whom I think the whole of Mangere is proud of. I imagine that when the super-council is selected he will be one of its members and I think that is very important. 
Alf Filipaina gets out in his community but sometimes he goes across the border. He may go away from the Mangere ward and out to Manurewa Papatoetoe Otara or Pakuranga and he joins in things with a spirit that I think should be duplicated by many others. He is the sort of person we call a “decent bloke” and I think it is very important that we allow people like that to be elected. 
The chairman of the Manurewa Community Board is a guy called Mike Bailey who works for the police. He is a police officer. Not only is he the chair of the community board but also he marries people and he dispatches people. He is another person who is totally involved in his community. We have people like Angela Cunningham-Marino on the community board who is also a police officer. She works to help people in the community in many ways. It is these community-spirited people who are working to help people who are suffering from heart disease and helping people who need guidance and strength. Having police officers like that on community boards and on councils is very important. 
Labour as I said will support this bill. I would have liked it to go to a select committee. I know that time is short but I thought a 1-day hearing would not be bad. We could have had the Police Association along and the Police Officers Guild if we had had this bill before a select committee for a day. But that is not to be. I am sure—in fact I am positive—that it will not stop the Police Association from having its say one way or the other. It will do it very publicly. Greg O’Connor is not slow in saying what he thinks on issues that affect his officers. 
It is interesting to have a look at the people who want to serve their community in a way that encourages the community rather than discouraging people. In the Counties-Manukau area we have many many young people who have lost their way. It is the police that we look to to help those people. Yes we know that Child Youth and Family Services do a good job in many cases and we know that there are other agencies but to have people who work for the New Zealand Police and who in their own time get out and support those young people is truly important. They are the heroes of the local community. Whenever I see Alf I see that there is a guy with a big smiley face and a warm handshake. He always greets everyone in the same way. 
Simon Bridges 
: Sounds like me. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: No he does not sound like the member for Tauranga who used to try to get people put in jail all the time—in the end I think that people got off because of his skills. When we have people like Alf doing the sort of work he does it is good. We should not be putting obstacles in the way of these people wanting to stand for council. If we put obstacles in their way then of course we lose a lot of talent and a lot of ability. 
When a similar bill that led to this one came before the House it was because Ron Mark the New Zealand First Party member—members will probably remember Winston Peters and one or two others. 
Hon Judith Collins 
: No. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Oh no some people cannot remember Winston Peters. Well I think he is busy working away. For ages and ages Ron Mark wanted no police to be on council. Even when I was Minister of Police he was trying to make sure that police officers could not work as councillors in their community. When one has— 
Dr Cam Calder 
: What was he? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: There is the member from the North Shore or somewhere—Cam Calder I think it is. He has woken up. I see the ornament of the National Government is smiling in the back row as well. However in the end we should have people who can be a bit bigger-minded than Ron Mark was. I think Ron Mark took a very narrow view. 
One of the problems when we have coalitions is that sometimes deals are done. It looked as though a deal was done with the Tuhoe people but then all of a sudden it was pulled away. That is the nature of coalition Governments. Coalition Governments make deals and they break deals. People are promised that there will not be any increase in GST and then there is. I am not blaming just the Maori Party or ACT for that; they are all guilty the whole lot. I think that Ron Mark went too far. He went to the stage where he personally disliked a police officer and then came up with the legislation that put on restrictions. 
I am pleased that the Minister has this bill in the House today. The Labour Party will support it. I hope that many people vote for Alf and his team when they stand at the council elections this year.