Mark Mitchell: Police Minister on the outcome of the police pay increase negotiations

The Police Minister is defending the Government's pay increase for police, despite concerns of a mass exodus. 

An independent arbitrator has ruled in favour of the Government's offer which includes a $1500 lump payment, an at least $5000 backdated wage increase, and increased overtime pay from July next year. 

However, many cops are unhappy.  

Mark Mitchell told Ryan Bridge while he understands where they're coming from, the government worked hard to put this together.  

He says they've had a huge hospital pass and put together what they think is a fair package. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And the government has won its long running pay dispute
with the police union, prompting fears of a mass exodus
of cops. Both sides had to enter arbitration last year
after negotiations stalled, the arbitrators have settled for the government.
The offer is fifteen hundred dollars that's a lump some payment,
five thousand dollars pay increase. Basically, it's four percent for

(00:20):
twenty twenty four a pay increase, and four percent for
twenty twenty five, which if you believe Adrian or were
when he says he'll get inflation within target, that would
actually put that ahead of inflation. However, many cops still unhappy.
Mark Mitchell is the police Minister and who joins me now, Minister,
Good morning, Hey.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Good morning, Ryan, how are you good?

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Thank you. Have you seen any projections on how many
police officers might quit the force after this?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
No, I haven't, but you know, of course, you know, look,
I completely understand and feel where they're coming from. But
the reality of it is is in incoming government we
were really hard to put together what we feel was
a really fear offer. You know, at the end of
the day, me personally, I was very proud that we
for the first time ever in New Zealand, we're going
to be paying. We're going to go to paid overtime.

(01:09):
And for me that was really significant. I know that
in my own police and career, I was a police
Doyle cam. I's sort of covering from a toy to wire.
There's only two of us. We're working a two week
We're working a two week roster side night shift every
second week. I had an enormous build up of toil.
In fact, I stopped collecting toil because it was not manageable.
And if I'd had paid overtime, this young police officer

(01:31):
with two kids, I would have loved to have trend
listened to that. We've put that in there so I
completely totally understand you know the way our police are feeling.
But hand on heart right, we've inherited it. We've had
a huge hospital pass and we've put together we think
is a really fair package.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Chris Carhill says many of the police officers who were
on the fence about moving to Australia will probably make
the call and go now. He also said that the
options were either this or there would be jobs job cuts,
So either you pay fewer officers more or you pay
more officers less. Was that a serious consideration?

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Well, I wasn't in the detail that. Obviously, the final
off arbitration is between the Association and the police, and
so I'm not going.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
To talk to would have Would you have as police minister,
would you have let job cuts happen at police?

Speaker 2 (02:25):
No? Absolutely not. There's no way we were frontline job
cuts had happened. I mean, you know, we've inherited an
absolute mess and we're fighting our way through and we're
determined to start to turn things around. At the end
of the day, of course, I don't want to lose
police officers to Australia, but the reality of is they've
given outstanding public service here in New Zealand and I
make the best decisions for them and their family. Look,

(02:47):
when I was in the police, the Australians we hear
recruiting some of our police officers go most day and
at the end of the day, for me, I'm just
fully focused on getting on top of the awful situation
that's been allowed to grow over the last six years.
With me increase in game numbers, in violence, violent retail crime.
The only ones that can get on top of this problem.
Will have got a big role to play. It's not

(03:08):
just the police, it's just the system as well. Are
the police are the only one They've got the training
and the powers, and we've got to get on top
of the problem. And I totally understand it. I'm sensitive
to how they're feeling about the pay negotiation.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
I mean, handle, yeah, I agree with you. I agree
with you. They played such a critical role, which is
why I'm surprised at the fact that that this has
happened the way that it has. And when you've got
seventy five percent of the cops voting against the previous offer,
which was very similar to this one, and you know,
how can you have any credibility with them?

Speaker 2 (03:43):
No, but it wasn't the last offer. This new offer
that our government put on the table is a quarter
of a billion dollars more in an environment where as
a country, we're paying eight point five billion dollars a
year just in interest payments. We've you know, we've got
to get our books back in order. We've got to
start fighting our way back to a surplus and getting
the economy up and running again. And this was in

(04:05):
light of that. Just let me recap it. It was a
fifteen hundred dollars lump sum payment. It was a five
thousand dollars wage increase and a five point twenty five
percent increase in allowances from November one, twenty three. Then
we went to a four percent wage increase and corresponding
increases to allowances from July one, twenty twenty four, and
then another four percent wage increase in corresponding allowances from

(04:27):
July one, twenty twenty five, which, like you said, is
projected to be above inflation. And on top of that,
we had a we went we were transitioning to a
paid overtime framework we never had before in New Zealand.
So it was it was it was an offer that
we were really hard as a government to put forward
hand on hard. It was the best that we could do.
I'm not diminishing the fact that the way that our

(04:49):
frontline police are feeling, but you know, a lot some
people will make their decisions in terms of what's right
for them and their family. For me, I've just got
to keep looking forward and I've got to keep trying
to deal with, you know, this awful situation that's been
were to grow over the last few years.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
It's Mark Mitchell, the Minister of Police, with us this morning.
Thank you very much for your time.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
For more from News Talks ed B, listen live on
air or online, and keep

Speaker 1 (05:12):
Our shows with you wherever you go with our podcasts
on iHeartRadio