Green MP Tamatha Paul is doubling down on her comments that a “visible police presence” makes people feel “more on edge.” …
The Wellington Central MP said she’d received “nothing but complaints” about police beat patrols.
Paul told the event people in Wellington didn’t want to see police officers everywhere, and “for a lot of people, it makes them feel less safe”.
This is a great example of how out of touch the Greens are with average New Zealanders. I’m sure all her friends do dislike seeing the Police, but the vast majority of NZers do not.
In fact the latest Crime and Victims Survey found only 2% of NZers had no trust and confidence in the Police and 83% believe the Police conduct themselves professionally.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Paul’s comments were “outrageous and insane”, and police were out there doing an “incredible job.”
Insane is a good description of her advocacy to defund police and abolish prisons.
Hipkins said her comments were “ill-informed, were unwise, in fact were stupid”.
“I don’t think responsible members of parliament should be undermining the police in that way, I think the New Zealand public have huge confidence in the New Zealand police and they should have.”
Nice to see Luxon and Hipkins agree that the Greens are barmy.
Mitchell pointed to Wellington Central as an example of the success of beat policing.
“We’ve seen a 5.5% decrease in violent crime in the area that the Beat Team is deployed, compared to a 2% drop nationally,” the minister said.
He said the Greens “don’t believe in our police or prisons”.
I think the Greens believe in hugs.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
5 comments:
Tamatha Paul's comments are no surprise when you consider the Green Party's philosophy on law and order, which is shared by Te Pati Maori and some of the radical Democrats in the States. The media normally try to cover it up.
Basically, the Police are the "pigs" and are the enemy. Cooperating with them is being a nark. Businesses are evil bastions of capitalism and greed, so there is nothing wrong with taking their belongings. Colonialists stole everything from Maori so there is nothing wrong with taking it back. Benefit fraud is cool - ask Metiria Turei who now teaches law. Gangs are also cool, and are the modern equivalents of the 19th Century Maori tribes who went on rampages. Black African dictators, like Robert Mugabe, are great men who should be emulated.
These beliefs sound extreme to some people, but to many people in NZ, particularly those on welfare, that is what they think.
Surely the police should just apologize and remove all officers from her electorate. Create a no police zone and put all calls through to her office.
Let's get one thing straight - The police are NOT your friend.
Any decent lawyer will advise you should always have a lawyer present if you are being questioned by the police about anything. There are many reasons why, but the main one is
- It will not help you in any way.
About the only thing that can happen is you will inadvertently say something to incriminate yourself even if you are an innocent witness or bystander.
There is a high level of naivety in the comments by Hipkins and whether we like it or not It is quite true for many people.
- They do not feel any safer when they see police officers.
They all have likely had bad experience through no fault of their own.
For those who want to be chums with the police by all means feel free to be open and honest with your interactions.
But be prepared for any outcomes you may not have predicted.
Tamatha Paul was a low achiever in the Wellington City Council so no surprises really.
Love CXH's comment.
Post a Comment
Thanks for engaging in the debate!
Because this is a public forum, we will only publish comments that are respectful and do NOT contain links to other sites. We appreciate your cooperation.