First reading, Policing Bill

Madam Speaker, I move that the Policing Bill be read for the first time.

At the appropriate point, I further intend to move that:
• the Bill be referred to the Law and Order Committee;
• the Committee report the Bill back to the House before 31 May 2008; and that
• the Committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting, except during oral questions, and during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House, and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House, despite Standing Orders 192 and 195(1)(b) and (c).

I am proud to open debate on the Policing Bill. It contains the most far-reaching legislative proposals on policing to come before the House in half a century. The Bill will replace the 1958 Police Act and two smaller statutes dealing with aspects of international policing, and it will fast-forward New Zealand Police legislation into the 21st century.

These reforms are long overdue. The complex challenges of today’s world cannot be met with laws grounded in an earlier era. The context for contemporary policing is radically different than that which faced lawmakers in the 1950s, when the current Police Act was passed; not the least of which is new forms of offending, and technological advances which can now be used to combat crime.

Indeed, in some cases, the leap we need to make is not just from the 1950s; several provisions in the existing Police Act, especially in the areas of governance, employment arrangements, and ways to manage staff conduct, trace back to Victorian times.

Although there have been incremental changes to the Police Act over the years, the current legislative framework for policing is still left with unnecessarily prescriptive rules and confused lines of accountability - amongst other drawbacks.

In confronting these challenges, the Bill reflects the outcome of a wide-ranging review of the 1958 Act, which has been undertaken during the past two years. The review was not a narrow administrative exercise, but sought to promote a national conversation about the future of policing; to fundamentally re-imagine what sort of legislative arrangements might best support the needs of a modern New Zealand Police.

In many ways, the Police Act Review has been a model process, and the Bill now before the House shows the benefits of all the effort which has gone into developing, consulting and refining proposals for new policing legislation.

I want to pay tribute to all those who contributed to the success of the Police Act Review, and who took the opportunity to contribute their ideas on the best form of legislation for Police.

This includes important contributions by independent bodies, such as the Law Commission, Human Rights Commission, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, which has helped to ensure the proposals in the Bill are consistent with the basic rights and protections guaranteed by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

It also includes the views of frontline police, as well as the two main Police staff associations, which have been fed into the preparation of the Bill. Those at the ‘sharp end’ of policing are uniquely placed to provide advice on legislation that most appropriately supports New Zealand Police in the future. Their participation has been a key strength of the law reform process, and has led to practical suggestions for this Bill.

The Police Commissioner took responsibility for leading this review, and he and his deputies have been closely involved throughout. Indeed they have led the work, and I am pleased to say the draft legislation now before the House is roundly supported by Police’s senior leaders.

As well as input from police themselves, a diverse range of individuals, groups and organisations have contributed to the shape of the Bill.

Three distinct consultation phases allowed New Zealanders to articulate what kind of police service they want, and gave them a voice to identify the kind of legislative arrangements that can help deliver that style of policing. It has been pleasing to see genuine engagement and debate about policing legislation from communities throughout the country.

For example, territorial local authorities played a prominent role in each of the three public consultation rounds, as did several non-government organisations, such as the Māori Wardens Association.

As another means of grounding the proposals for new policing legislation, public research was commissioned on what New Zealanders want and expect of their police service. This, too, helped thinking about how policing in this country might best be enabled by legislation.

These multiple strands of consultation, together with testing and refinement, have come together in this Bill.

It represents an emerging consensus, which describes a broadly-shared vision of how the law should deal with issues as diverse as the overall role of New Zealand Police, and high-level governance and accountability arrangements, through to some of the more administrative ‘nuts and bolts’ that allow a large state sector organisation to work effectively and efficiently.

Given the role of police in society and in our constitutional system of government, Police’s enabling statute should command the broadest possible cross-party support. I therefore look forward to all members of this House taking an active interest in the Policing Bill, and playing a constructive role in providing a strong, clear and durable legislative platform for our nation’s police service. There can be no place for policing to become a ‘political plaything’.

Turning now to the Bill’s provisions, the draft legislation has two main objectives.

The first is to reform the legal structure under which New Zealand Police is mandated and organised. A special focus here is clarifying the functions of the Police, policing principles, and the constitutional relationship between Police and the government of the day.

The second goal is to equip Police to better meet the needs of New Zealanders. This involves updating personnel management provisions, and putting in place a clear and modern framework for specially-authorised employees to exercise policing powers.

While the Bill breaks new ground in a number of areas, it is important to note that cherished aspects of our policing history are carried through as well. The measures in the Bill represent a careful blend of continuity and change.

For example, in confirming the relative areas of responsibility of the Commissioner of Police and Minister of Police, the Bill’s provisions strike a balance between setting out some basic reference points in statute, but not attempting to legislate for all aspects of the relationship.

This allows us to preserve, and continue to benefit from, important common law concepts which have stood the test of time (notably, the doctrine of constabulary independence), while giving added strength and transparency to the principle of Police operational independence.

In the human resources area, the Bill aims to create a simplified, more flexible environment which offers much greater scope for modern management and industrial relations practices. The personnel provisions of the Bill will help to achieve that.

I want to briefly single out two aspects of these employment-related provisions for comment.

First, the Bill gives a statutory basis to a Code of Conduct for all Police. The Code of Conduct is a critical document that establishes baseline standards for all Police employees, reinforcing the importance of ethics and integrity in the way policing is done in New Zealand. The statutory requirement for there to be an all-embracing Police Code of Conduct is a very positive development, further helping draw a line under deficiencies of previous arrangements.

Secondly, the Bill confirms a long-standing prohibition against the involvement of Police staff in elections for political office. Clause 97 of the Bill drives at the need for Police employees to ensure their participation in elections does not bring them into conflict with their duty to act in a politically-neutral way.

What clause 97 does not do is to completely bar Police employees from seeking elected roles in local government. However, I am aware that others hold some different views on this issue. I also acknowledge there is an arguable case for taking the same basic arrangements which apply to Police employees who wish to serve as Members of Parliament, and extending them to any Police staff who wish to serve on territorial local authorities or community boards.

I expect the relevant clause will be closely examined during the Bill’s select committee consideration, and I invite those who feel strongly about this issue to make a submission on this point. The scrutiny and debate will be welcomed, and any suggestions for fine-tuning will be approached with an open mind.

Indeed, it may be that the Bill requires some refinements as the legislation proceeds. I look forward to hearing any constructive suggestions about how to improve the Bill. I am not so ready to listen, however, to criticism from those who are more interested in looking backwards rather than looking forwards.

I am sure none of us wants to unpick the large measure of consensus which has developed around this Bill. I want to focus on arriving at the best possible form of legislation we possibly can. It is critical we get this right. Policing is simply too important. And if the 1958 Act is anything to go by, the work we do in this parliament on a new statute for Police may well be on the law books for another 50 years.

This realisation underlines again the importance of the reforms in this Bill. It looks to build on the proven strengths of our system of policing, by putting in place building blocks to further boost Police’s effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability. Although changes for the better have been made over the years, this Bill takes that evolution a major step forward. And it seeks to do so in a way that supports public trust and confidence in the New Zealand Police.

Madam Speaker, there is a reservoir of public goodwill for our police, and a large measure of respect for the ‘citizens in uniform’ who help to maintain the safety and security of our communities.

Those men and women do not routinely carry firearms, making New Zealand’s police service one of the few unarmed police forces anywhere in the world. This is a consent-based form of policing which is keenly valued by Kiwis and visitors alike, and which is only possible because of the widespread public support for, and confidence in, the New Zealand Police. The Policing Bill is designed to build on that powerful legacy.

As such, I commend the Bill to the House, and look forward to it receiving broad-based support from the people’s representatives in this parliament.