March 25, 2025 • 9 mins
Labour's admitted the gang patch ban hasn't turned out as badly as they feared.
The Deputy Police Commissioner has confirmed staff are pleasantly surprised at the ban's effectiveness, saying it's brought more control to the situation.
It comes as Gisborne police are given more powers to deal with gangs.
Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen told Mike Hosking the fact it's gone well is a good thing.
She says given fears haven't eventuated of frontline officers getting hurt, she can recognise it's gone better than everyone thought it would.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now politics Wednesday time, Mark Mitchell, Ginny Anderson is with us.
A very good morning to both of you.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Morning Jenny, morning to you both.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Now do you too know tany Yakoura who we had
on the program earlier.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
On Yes, yes, yes, we both well.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
She seems like an awesome woman. Am I correct in
my assessment? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
She does it. She does a great job. She's one
of our deputy commissioners. She delivered the speech uh in
relation to the abuse and state here. She did an
outstanding job and doing that she was the interim commissioner
at the time. And know she's and she's got a long,
proud history of service to our country as a police officer.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Seems to speak, she's she's an impressive, impressive woman. Yeah,
she's got great operational experience in and got a good
hit on her shoulders. She's calm and in control and
makes good decisions.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
What do you think, Jinny? Your your your co conspirator
tamoth of Paul who seems to want to defund the police.
So how are you going to handle this if you
ever get a chance to run the country again? And
Tamotha comes along and goes she's heard nothing but complaints
about the police beat patrols around the country, and it's
completely possible to set up institutions that can overtake lots
(01:12):
of functions of the police. What are you going to
tell Tamotha.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I would say, no, Timotha, We're not defunding the police,
That's what I would say.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
That's good, even though you did defund the police when
you're in government.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Oh come on, we've got fifty more funding. You have
cut excuse me out of the police. Excuse me, two
hundred workers out of police.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Excuse me, excuse me.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Frontline officers do more work. So I don't even try
that one.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Back as the incoming minister, the first thing I was
briefed on was the fact that the previous labor government
had underfunded their cost pressures by about four or five percent,
and we changed that immediately. We put one hundred and
twenty million dollars just to stabilize them because they cost
precious because because their cost pressures hadn't been funded for.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Reality of it.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Right, next budget mate, back in the.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Corners, Back in the corners, you two, would you agree
in listening Ginny and listening to Tanny this morning when
she spoke well of the game patch band and how
it's working and how they appreciate that. Would you at
least accept that that was a good move on this
government and you guys might have been wrong.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Well, her words were, it worked a lot better than
we thought it would to end, and I think Chris
Carhill has said the same thing that that that front yeah,
definitely is a good thing. There was a fear that
frontline officers would be hurt and we haven't seen it.
So yeah, I'll recognize that it has gone a lot
better than what everybody thought it would do.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Okay, So I was a frontline police officer and I
always believed in it, and I always stood by it,
and I had we had all the commentators, and you're
talking about Duncan. I mean, he was crying into a
seat just about every day trying to stick up and
protect the game members. And the reality of it is
it's been extremely effective, and it's made our police officer's
(02:56):
job on the street much easier, and I'd argue that
it's made people safer.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, Well, I would say also, at the same time
we've been gang pictures, we've seen a ninety six percent
increase in methane phetamine use in New Zealand. And my
point would be that it's more important to get drugs
and crime and organized networks broken down than it is
to take away petty.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
So yes, so yes, we have got a methane filming
problem in New Zealand. That is a global issue that
we're dealing with. And the reality is this, we ran
a very big operation in a podocy where we took
down the entire Barbarian's mungol mob and if you look
at the water testing and the podokey, it's dropped significantly.
So it just shows that we've got to keep doing
what we're doing and hammering the gangs and staying on
(03:37):
top of the gate. Who is that exactly what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Forget the gags for a moment, but from the drug
side of the equation, Jinny who takes.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Myth Look, they do a really good survey at I
think you had to head someone on the program.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, But that was just a generic
water testing. I don't know anyone who takes meth I mean,
is it is it?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Typically? It is like if you if you want to generalize,
it's poorer areas, poorer areas rural New Zealand with his
already poverty. And I know of people who work in
some of those areas and they'd say one of the
things you see teachers see is that when a family
has been on a myth bind, there's no food in
the house because they're going for three or four days
(04:16):
without eating, and they're not going to sleep. And so
you get children turning up to school that are hungry,
who haven't had any sleep. So it's already hit by
poverty and their entrenches and makes it even harder for
kids growing up in homes with poverty.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Would you concur with that, mate, Yeah, I think it's
right across society.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Sadly, some people sort of get. The problem with myth
is once it gets it talking to you, that's an
absuit wrecking ball, and it reached people's lives. I remember
when it arrived in New Zealand. I was a police
officer down in Taerpo. I'd just gone operation with my
second and new police dog. A guy had gone nuts
with an axe and was trying to smash his one
into a house to attack some people. And I arrived
(04:54):
and had to deal with that, and I remember entering
some pepper spray into it onto his face, that it
just had no impact or effect at all. It's a
horrible drug. It's a horrible drug. It's very difficult for
the police. It's been a waking war for us as
a country and globally, and we are working really hard.
That The reason why I keep talking about games is
(05:16):
because they're the ones that are pinpure.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yea, they are. But I worry too, Mark and the
flip side of that is going to get all of that.
But I mean, who, I just I just I cannot
get my head around it that the ninety six percent
increase in use. I mean, what sort of idiots goes
down that? You know, you can have your weed debate
and your cocaine debate and all that sort of stuff,
But a myth is evil and once you're down there,
(05:38):
you don't get it.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Can I'd like to jump in there? So I worked
for when John Key pulled together the myth in tackling
myth infetamine when it really started to pick I worked
in that group and Department of Prime Minister and Kevina
under National when they had an action plan or myth
infetamin And you're right, it goes right across society market.
We see it in high you know, white collar areas
as well, but it is absolutely disaut dating and what
(06:00):
those stats are coming at now are showing that the
price point for me, it's lowest ever, it's the cheapest
it's ever been, and the purity is its highest, it's
not been past at anything. So that shows that the
illicit market right now in New Zealand has been completely flooded.
You can get it really easily and that's the most
worrying thing that people who want to get it quickly.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And the other thing, of course, Mike, is that when
you are in the tough economic times, people turn to
some sort of escape where healthy alcohol, whether that be drugs,
and we've been in tough economic times for a few
years and that's an aggravating.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Factor as well. Mark highlight of India for.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Me, I think getting to meet prominence and mode again.
I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with
him in twenty sixteen when I went out there with
Sir John Key and for me personally that was a
highlight and then huge I know, it's a huge difference
in him. He's a very new prime minister back then,
he's very experienced now doing an outstanding job, really clear
(06:59):
about what he wants to achieve, and really was very
gracious and generous with us as a delegation, and you
could clearly see that him and Chris have got a
very good relationship.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
When you fly on the seven five seven, are you
buggered by the time you get home, given it takes
you thirty seven hours to fly about three hundred miles.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
No, Funnily enough, I haven't had coming back. Look, we
were the because you fly so slow. Look, I have
to say the world the Defense Forces did an outsteady
job of supporting us on this visit, and we were
able to actually visit the crew of taka who were
about to deploy into the Gulf of Aiden on any
(07:40):
pirasy and on drug and addiction, which is critically important
for all of us.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
And correct me if I'm wrong. I saw the pictures
of the Takaha. Looks like a bucket of bolts. Is
it there's rust all over it? Or is that just
what happens to a ship after while that doesn't get painted.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah, no, it's Look it's in good shape. The crew
and great spirits and they're really looking forward to now
and doing what they joined defense forces to do and
that's your active operations.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Geny electrics in your area yesterday's announcement. I know it
doesn't personally affect you, but but it's just a little
bit actually, so you're yeah, but your electric gets reshaped.
It's not like it disappears and some come and some go,
is that is that upheaval?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Well, it's we kind of knew it was on the
cards because some parts of Wellington have decreased by ten twelve,
fourteen percent down in population, so it was always on
the cards that something would shift.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
But what do you mean do you what do you
get to pick?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I know you're not currentlylan so I'm looking forward to
get new It was fantastic.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
On the hill get blown and by the southerly, but
the views are fantastic.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
But he's alone.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I know that. Well, I tink you a little bit
more Abor maybe, so it'll be interesting to see what
that means. It's marginal.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
But do you reckon Newlands?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Labor Bishop and oh these it's it's it's middle public.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Asperation and nice house at the top of Newlands. You
made it.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
You can see the house I campaigned in there in
twenty fourteen. So I went up against Peter Duarn on
my first election and there wasn't a great election for labor.
That was we got a low party vote and I
lost out by about seven hundred votes. And or how
do you so, Yeah, it's a good area to campaign.
And I'd say, and.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
What's Greg going to do in Barbara? I mean, are
they all sort of sitting there? I mean the problem
with this is EMP sort of solved the problem, isn't
I mean, you get a percentage of the vote, you
get percentage of the seats. But I mean, I suppose
if you've got an electorate, you want it, don't you.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
We always work hard in the area you know and
you you like and you want to support. And then
that's a lot of the fun of being a politician
as you get in to meet people and understand what they're.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
What they were. I heard they're playing paper scissors rocks.
We get to the when we gets the seat.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
To see you guys will catch up next to Jhnny Anderson.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
For more from the Mike Casking Breakfast. Listen live to
news talks.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
Now politics Wednesday time, Mark Mitchell, Ginny Anderson is with us.
A very good morning to both of you.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Morning Jenny, morning to you both.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Now do you too know tany Yakoura who we had
on the program earlier.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
On Yes, yes, yes, we both well.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
She seems like an awesome woman. Am I correct in
my assessment? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:19):
She does it. She does a great job. She's one
of our deputy commissioners. She delivered the speech uh in
relation to the abuse and state here. She did an
outstanding job and doing that she was the interim commissioner
at the time. And know she's and she's got a long,
proud history of service to our country as a police officer.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Seems to speak, she's she's an impressive, impressive woman. Yeah,
she's got great operational experience in and got a good
hit on her shoulders. She's calm and in control and
makes good decisions.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
What do you think, Jinny? Your your your co conspirator
tamoth of Paul who seems to want to defund the police.
So how are you going to handle this if you
ever get a chance to run the country again? And
Tamotha comes along and goes she's heard nothing but complaints
about the police beat patrols around the country, and it's
completely possible to set up institutions that can overtake lots
(01:12):
of functions of the police. What are you going to
tell Tamotha.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I would say, no, Timotha, We're not defunding the police,
That's what I would say.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
That's good, even though you did defund the police when
you're in government.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Oh come on, we've got fifty more funding. You have
cut excuse me out of the police. Excuse me, two
hundred workers out of police.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Excuse me, excuse me.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Frontline officers do more work. So I don't even try
that one.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Back as the incoming minister, the first thing I was
briefed on was the fact that the previous labor government
had underfunded their cost pressures by about four or five percent,
and we changed that immediately. We put one hundred and
twenty million dollars just to stabilize them because they cost
precious because because their cost pressures hadn't been funded for.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Reality of it.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Right, next budget mate, back in the.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Corners, Back in the corners, you two, would you agree
in listening Ginny and listening to Tanny this morning when
she spoke well of the game patch band and how
it's working and how they appreciate that. Would you at
least accept that that was a good move on this
government and you guys might have been wrong.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Well, her words were, it worked a lot better than
we thought it would to end, and I think Chris
Carhill has said the same thing that that that front yeah,
definitely is a good thing. There was a fear that
frontline officers would be hurt and we haven't seen it.
So yeah, I'll recognize that it has gone a lot
better than what everybody thought it would do.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Okay, So I was a frontline police officer and I
always believed in it, and I always stood by it,
and I had we had all the commentators, and you're
talking about Duncan. I mean, he was crying into a
seat just about every day trying to stick up and
protect the game members. And the reality of it is
it's been extremely effective, and it's made our police officer's
(02:56):
job on the street much easier, and I'd argue that
it's made people safer.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, Well, I would say also, at the same time
we've been gang pictures, we've seen a ninety six percent
increase in methane phetamine use in New Zealand. And my
point would be that it's more important to get drugs
and crime and organized networks broken down than it is
to take away petty.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
So yes, so yes, we have got a methane filming
problem in New Zealand. That is a global issue that
we're dealing with. And the reality is this, we ran
a very big operation in a podocy where we took
down the entire Barbarian's mungol mob and if you look
at the water testing and the podokey, it's dropped significantly.
So it just shows that we've got to keep doing
what we're doing and hammering the gangs and staying on
(03:37):
top of the gate. Who is that exactly what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Forget the gags for a moment, but from the drug
side of the equation, Jinny who takes.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Myth Look, they do a really good survey at I
think you had to head someone on the program.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, But that was just a generic
water testing. I don't know anyone who takes meth I mean,
is it is it?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Typically? It is like if you if you want to generalize,
it's poorer areas, poorer areas rural New Zealand with his
already poverty. And I know of people who work in
some of those areas and they'd say one of the
things you see teachers see is that when a family
has been on a myth bind, there's no food in
the house because they're going for three or four days
(04:16):
without eating, and they're not going to sleep. And so
you get children turning up to school that are hungry,
who haven't had any sleep. So it's already hit by
poverty and their entrenches and makes it even harder for
kids growing up in homes with poverty.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Would you concur with that, mate, Yeah, I think it's
right across society.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Sadly, some people sort of get. The problem with myth
is once it gets it talking to you, that's an
absuit wrecking ball, and it reached people's lives. I remember
when it arrived in New Zealand. I was a police
officer down in Taerpo. I'd just gone operation with my
second and new police dog. A guy had gone nuts
with an axe and was trying to smash his one
into a house to attack some people. And I arrived
(04:54):
and had to deal with that, and I remember entering
some pepper spray into it onto his face, that it
just had no impact or effect at all. It's a
horrible drug. It's a horrible drug. It's very difficult for
the police. It's been a waking war for us as
a country and globally, and we are working really hard.
That The reason why I keep talking about games is
(05:16):
because they're the ones that are pinpure.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yea, they are. But I worry too, Mark and the
flip side of that is going to get all of that.
But I mean, who, I just I just I cannot
get my head around it that the ninety six percent
increase in use. I mean, what sort of idiots goes
down that? You know, you can have your weed debate
and your cocaine debate and all that sort of stuff,
But a myth is evil and once you're down there,
(05:38):
you don't get it.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Can I'd like to jump in there? So I worked
for when John Key pulled together the myth in tackling
myth infetamine when it really started to pick I worked
in that group and Department of Prime Minister and Kevina
under National when they had an action plan or myth
infetamin And you're right, it goes right across society market.
We see it in high you know, white collar areas
as well, but it is absolutely disaut dating and what
(06:00):
those stats are coming at now are showing that the
price point for me, it's lowest ever, it's the cheapest
it's ever been, and the purity is its highest, it's
not been past at anything. So that shows that the
illicit market right now in New Zealand has been completely flooded.
You can get it really easily and that's the most
worrying thing that people who want to get it quickly.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And the other thing, of course, Mike, is that when
you are in the tough economic times, people turn to
some sort of escape where healthy alcohol, whether that be drugs,
and we've been in tough economic times for a few
years and that's an aggravating.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Factor as well. Mark highlight of India for.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Me, I think getting to meet prominence and mode again.
I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with
him in twenty sixteen when I went out there with
Sir John Key and for me personally that was a
highlight and then huge I know, it's a huge difference
in him. He's a very new prime minister back then,
he's very experienced now doing an outstanding job, really clear
(06:59):
about what he wants to achieve, and really was very
gracious and generous with us as a delegation, and you
could clearly see that him and Chris have got a
very good relationship.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
When you fly on the seven five seven, are you
buggered by the time you get home, given it takes
you thirty seven hours to fly about three hundred miles.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
No, Funnily enough, I haven't had coming back. Look, we
were the because you fly so slow. Look, I have
to say the world the Defense Forces did an outsteady
job of supporting us on this visit, and we were
able to actually visit the crew of taka who were
about to deploy into the Gulf of Aiden on any
(07:40):
pirasy and on drug and addiction, which is critically important
for all of us.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
And correct me if I'm wrong. I saw the pictures
of the Takaha. Looks like a bucket of bolts. Is
it there's rust all over it? Or is that just
what happens to a ship after while that doesn't get painted.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah, no, it's Look it's in good shape. The crew
and great spirits and they're really looking forward to now
and doing what they joined defense forces to do and
that's your active operations.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Geny electrics in your area yesterday's announcement. I know it
doesn't personally affect you, but but it's just a little
bit actually, so you're yeah, but your electric gets reshaped.
It's not like it disappears and some come and some go,
is that is that upheaval?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Well, it's we kind of knew it was on the
cards because some parts of Wellington have decreased by ten twelve,
fourteen percent down in population, so it was always on
the cards that something would shift.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
But what do you mean do you what do you
get to pick?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I know you're not currentlylan so I'm looking forward to
get new It was fantastic.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
On the hill get blown and by the southerly, but
the views are fantastic.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
But he's alone.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I know that. Well, I tink you a little bit
more Abor maybe, so it'll be interesting to see what
that means. It's marginal.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
But do you reckon Newlands?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Labor Bishop and oh these it's it's it's middle public.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Asperation and nice house at the top of Newlands. You
made it.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
You can see the house I campaigned in there in
twenty fourteen. So I went up against Peter Duarn on
my first election and there wasn't a great election for labor.
That was we got a low party vote and I
lost out by about seven hundred votes. And or how
do you so, Yeah, it's a good area to campaign.
And I'd say, and.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
What's Greg going to do in Barbara? I mean, are
they all sort of sitting there? I mean the problem
with this is EMP sort of solved the problem, isn't
I mean, you get a percentage of the vote, you
get percentage of the seats. But I mean, I suppose
if you've got an electorate, you want it, don't you.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
We always work hard in the area you know and
you you like and you want to support. And then
that's a lot of the fun of being a politician
as you get in to meet people and understand what they're.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
What they were. I heard they're playing paper scissors rocks.
We get to the when we gets the seat.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
To see you guys will catch up next to Jhnny Anderson.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
For more from the Mike Casking Breakfast. Listen live to
news talks.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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