“Hawke’s Bay locals sent a clear message to the Government at a packed public meeting on Sunday evening that they need action. Sadly, the new Police Minister’s display in Parliament today shows they’re not likely to see any,” says ACT’s Justice spokesperson Nicole McKee.

“Since the Minister didn’t attend the public meeting, I put some questions to her in Parliament that the crowd wanted answers to. It appeared that her predecessor Stuart Nash, who attended the meeting in her place, didn’t pass on the local concerns.

“People in Hawke’s Bay are terrified and feel ignored. The Minister said she couldn’t attend the meeting because she was coming later in the week, surely the Police Minister would want to make a special trip to hear from such a wide audience gathered specifically to talk about her new responsibilities?

“Upon getting the job, Ginny Anderson said “My single focus will be improving community safety.” To do this she needs to listen to communities.

“Locals have been led to believe that the Government has moved on from caring about crime in cyclone-affected regions. Stuart Nash gave them no reason to think otherwise, one mother spoke of her children waking up during the night to lights been shined in their rooms by potential looters. Stuart Nash responded by telling the mother her worries were just “perceived risk”.

ACT has listened to locals’ concerns, we have sensible policy to address them. ACT would:

• Have the Defence Force supporting Police on the ground by invoking Section 9 of the Defence Act, enabling the New Zealand Defence Force to assist with civil powers in a time of emergency. A presence in the worst affected areas would make a huge difference to communities that are suffering.
• Ensuring tougher sentences for lowlife criminals exploiting emergency situations. Amending section 9 of the Sentencing Act 2002 would ensure that an offence committed in a region that is under a state of emergency would be taken into account as an aggravating factor at sentencing.

“Many of these communities feel as though they have been ignored by the Government. The Government needs to send a message to criminals that they can’t exploit disaster scenarios and show communities that they haven’t been forgotten.”

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