Launch of Deodar III

  • Annette King
Police

The Television 3 news story last month on the Deodar III began with a warning --- Boating baddies beware!

That is certainly part of the story we are here to celebrate today with the commissioning of the latest Auckland Police Launch Deodar III, which, to use a vaguely nautical expression, is set fair to sail proudly in the wake of those earlier police launches that have performed such sterling service in these waters.

I want to particularly acknowledge Their Excellencies the Governor-General and Mrs Susan Satyanand, Police Commissioner Howard Broad, and other New Zealand Police staff, including members of the Auckland Police Maritime Unit who will, I am sure, put this launch to very good use indeed.

The Prime Minister has asked me to apologise for not being able to join you today, but she has asked me to pass on her best wishes to all those who will work aboard the Deodar III.

Customs Minister Nanaia Mahuta is also very disappointed she cannot be with us.

And that brings me back to that very positive story on Television 3 on 19 November.

As we all know, catching baddies on the streets is only part of the story for shore-based police --- preventing crime happening in the first place is increasingly the focus, in fact.

Likewise, while the Police Maritime Unit will, I am sure, make maximum use of all that Deodar III offers to catch the boating baddies, there is, of course, far much more to it than that.
Commissioner Broad has already made the point that this new launch ushers in a new era in maritime safety and border control, with Police and Customs in particular working ever more closely together as part of a whole-of-government approach to border law enforcement.

That point has also been reinforced by Comptroller of Customs Martyn Dunne, who says that the shared arrangements to use Deodar III will build on an already strong partnership between Police and Customs, and will achieve even better results for the public and the country in the future.

When cooperative work with Fisheries and Immigration is also added to the mix, the potential of the Deodar III becomes genuinely exciting from a law enforcement point of view.

The whole-of-government approach is more and more becoming a key ingredient in this Government’s philosophical and practical approach to making our communities safer.

In Auckland as good an example as any is the way government and community agencies are working together to tackle issues associated with youth offending in South Auckland.

Many of these initiatives are police-led, but a number of other government agencies and departments and community organisations can also feel proud at the contribution they are making.

Different agencies and different organisations all have their own expertise to offer and share, and the same thing applies out here on the water.

New Zealand Police believe that sharing the Deodar III with Customs not only makes best use of a significant capital asset, but that greater efficiencies can be achieved, particularly in terms of border security operations, by sharing intelligence and operational resources.

That makes sense. New Zealand is too small a country to duplicate resources, whether people or infrastructure, when results can be achieved more efficiently, in almost any area you care to name, by working together.
In the maritime sector the philosophy of sharing expertise, assets and mounting multi-agency responses by police, customs and fisheries has actually long been the norm for decades, and it also extends to a very close working relationship with local government through harbour masters.

Now this way of doing business has gone a step further. It has paved the way for police and customs to collaborate on the design specifications for new vessels that may ultimately see police and customs operating identical vessels throughout the country. This brings cost, safety and operational benefits.
Police and customs have also developed shared specialist competencies for the vessel operators, and have begun a programme of temporary secondments that ensures each agency has a comprehensive understanding of each other operating procedures and practices.

This ensures that both agencies are able to provide an improved and comprehensive service.

Each agency has specific skills, powers and responsibilities which are generally complementary and they can co-respond both for short notice incidents and routine coastal patrolling. This sharing of expertise and mutual respect has made it possible for police and customs to work together on vessel type and design as well.

Deodar III is an advanced design that ensures not only operational capability, but is cost effective to operate. Deodar III is bristling with New Zealand expertise and technology. The list of unique New Zealand solutions in this vessel is extensive and something we can all be proud of.

She is a credit to the whole team who conceived, designed and built her.
In Auckland police, customs and other agencies are dealing with the country’s biggest population base, and, in the case of maritime-based crime, with a substantial and relatively busy expanse of water.

I understand that the customary operational area for the Auckland Police Maritime Unit covers approximately 2000 square nautical miles (or for those of more orientated to the land, some 3700 square kilometres).

That area encompasses the greater Hauraki Gulf, including some 200 islands such as Great Barrier and Waiheke Island, both of which I have visited recently, the latter aboard the Deodar II. The area also includes the Firth of Thames and associated harbours and inlets, and one of the advantages of Deodar III is that the operational range can be expanded.

So that gives even more meaning to Television 3’s story --- boating baddies beware, because Deodar III can turn up in any waters near you at any time!

I haven’t talked much about maritime safety, but the Deodar III will certainly make a major contribution in this area.

It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 vessels in the Auckland region, approaching half the 230,000 vessels in the national fleet. Every year the 15-year-old Deodar II has been responding to about 3500 incidents.
That’s hardly surprising as the number of vessels in the Auckland region means that on any given day, but particularly at weekends and in the summer, there can be hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders at work or at play on the water.

On a nice day, in fact, the greater Hauraki Gulf can bear a strong resemblance to the nautical playgrounds of the Greek islands, the Mediterannean and, I must add, beautiful Wellington Harbour.

I am not by any means a boating expert --- except during the America’s Cup, of course --- but even to the casual eye it is clear that the Deodar III is made for the job.

I want to congratulate Q-West Boat Builders in Wanganui for winning the contract, and for building such a successful state-of-the-art product.

I am told that Senior Sergeant Martin Paget, as officer in charge of the Maritime Unit, has travelled regularly to Wanganui to “stroke’ his new baby during its gestation, and I am sure he and his fellow unit members will treat the boat with the same loving care and attention now that it has been born.
The Deodar III may well be the prototype for other combined law enforcement vessels around the country, and for that reason as well it is obviously important that it performs successfully. I am sure that is exactly what will happen.

Congratulations again to the enthusiasm and enterprise of everyone involved in this distinctively New Zealand initiative that gives real meaning to the phrase, Policing the New Zealand Way.

Thank you again for inviting me to share this special occasion with you.