Greater Auckland: No Hope In Hapless Hawkins
"George Hawkins will go down as the Police Minister who let street crime get out of control in Auckland," says National
Party Police spokesman Tony Ryall.
"Local government leaders in Auckland have lost faith in the hapless Mr Hawkins. Now we have the extraordinary situation
of a former Labour Party President, the Waitakere Mayor Mr Harvey, reported as calling for a private force to do basic
Police duties because he has 'abandoned begging and scrabbling' to Mr Hawkins.
"Auckland's Mayor says he wants more Police for the streets of his city, and the North Shore Mayor has similar concerns.
"The Government won't listen to what's happening in Auckland. The Mayors do," Mr Ryall says.
"Mr Hawkins should open his ears and close his mouth, if that is possible.
"Greater Auckland is the street crime capital of New Zealand. Violence, car thefts, and drug offences are rocketing
unabated. Less than one in 12 burglaries is ever solved in some parts of the city. Law and order will be Labour's
downfall in Auckland," says Mr Ryall.
"Police in our largest city are absolutely stretched to snapping point. The priorities are all wrong. There's endless
money for highway patrols and speed cameras, but never anything for cops on the beat. Aucklanders don't want cops
ticketing people for driving 6 kilometres over the limit when their homes and cars are getting ransacked.
"Mr Hawkins is completely oblivious to the rampant street crime on his own backdoor. P is out of control throughout
Auckland, and all Mr Hawkins offers is a couple of 5-man teams which won't start work for six months. Mr Hawkins is an
embarrassment as one of Labour's real non-performers. It's time we had a Police Minister who understood the crisis in
Auckland.
"National will increase sworn Police numbers, reprioritise staffing effort into street crime, and lead a crack down on
the drug dealing gangs. We will stop the focus on pathetic and trifling infringements, and put the effort into street
crime," says Mr Ryall.