ACT Ethnic Communities spokesperson Dr Parmjeet Parmar is proposing to give graduates of the Royal New Zealand Police College greater choice in religious texts when taking their oaths.

“Under current legislation, the option of taking an oath on a religious text is only available for those willing to swear on a Bible. This seems inconsistent with the multicultural makeup of the modern Police force,” says Dr Parmar.

“I am aware of cases where graduates have requested to take the oath on an alternative religious text but were instructed that they must instead take the standard Constable’s Affirmation. It is safe to assume many more graduates would take up the opportunity to swear on a religious text relevant to their faith if they were given the opportunity.

“I have drafted a bill to extend the available religious texts to include the Bible, New Testament, Old Testament, Gita, Gutka Sahib, Quran, and others. I have written to the Minister of Police suggesting that this is adopted by the Government to avoid the delays and uncertainty associated with a member’s ballot process.

“While this would only be a minor change, the issue is of greater importance right now as the Government seeks to boost Police recruitment. The recent change to open recruitment to applicants holding a residence visa has the potential to draw recruits from a range of faiths, but the current rules for oaths risk sending an unwelcoming message.

“Fundamentally, this is about religious freedom, choice, and pluralism in a modern multi-ethnic democracy.”

Dr Parmar's letter to the Minister of Police can be found here.

A copy of the Oaths and Declarations (Recognition of Other Religious Texts) Amendment Bill can be found here.

A video of Dr Parmar speaking about this initiative can be found here.

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