KEY POINTS:
The Government's reversal of its position on police officers serving as local body councillors has angered the Police Association.
The Government had supported the idea, but now opposes it in the Policing Bill, headed for its third reading in Parliament.
Association president Greg O'Connor said yesterday that police
officers had served on councils for "many years without any issues arising".
"At a time when police are feeling isolated from the communities they are recruited from and live in, this ideologically driven denial of democratic rights enjoyed by every other New Zealander, including public servants, just aggravates that feeling of isolation.
"The Policing Bill went through more than two years of community consultation and development, and the Government policy after that process was that police should be able to serve on councils.
"Now it has decided at the 11th hour, with no consultation, to reverse that policy and undermine the rights of every New Zealand police officer."
Mr O'Connor said there did not appear to be "any substantive reason whatsoever for the about-face other than a desire to satisfy New Zealand First".
Police Minister Annette King said there needed to be separation of powers and police should not be able to make the laws and then enforce them.
"I think the public will look at the reality and make up its own mind. There were many submissions about this issue, including from the Legislation Advisory Committee, criminologists and law faculty staff, and the Government took notice of them.
"The submissions generally supported clarity on the issue of whether police should be able to stand for local authorities that make laws that subsequently need to be enforced.
"It is a different matter with community boards, which act in a purely advisory way and which are quite suitable bodies for police employees to play an active part in."
Mrs King said the five police officers already elected to local authorities would be allowed to remain in their positions under a grandparenting clause.
"Quite frankly, I am very disappointed Greg O'Connor and the association have used that sort of language. The reality is that New Zealand police have never had a better period than they have had under this Government."
National Party police spokesman Chester Borrows said Labour's "u-turn" was a "betrayal" of police officers'trust.
"Police believed until the very last minute that Labour opposed NZ First's bid to deny them the right to serve on councils, but that was before they snuck their u-turn clause into the Policing Bill."
He said there was "virtually" no comment on the change.
"Labour and NZ First have just denied police officers an everyday democratic right enjoyed by every other person in this country."
- NZPA
