Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
In fact, Mark and Jenny, good morning to you. If
you two aren't any good, I may end the segment
early and play some more of that and see how Yeah.
Absolutely anyway, now, Ginny'd start with you With Andrew Little,
we talked about it briefly or alluded to. I think
it was last week or the week before. So would
you see him winning the mayoralty? Is he forget the
(00:20):
labor thing? But just what have you noted? Is he
a good mayor?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I think he would be a great mayor. People are
looking for someone decisive who can take control, bring people
together and bring some confidence back into the Wellington area,
and I think he ticks all of those boxes.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Is part of the problem though, in sprooking him the
way you just did, the fact that people don't seem to,
for whatever reason, understand that he is just a mayor
with just one vote, and unless he gets a counsel
aligned with his sort of thinking, he goes nowhere.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I think Wellingtonian's a pretty smart They're pretty connected into
what's happening, not just in New Zealand but the world,
and they understand that the role of the mayor is
to bring that counsel together. You need to have a
majority and a consensus in order to get things done,
and they've seen that that's important if we want to
see progress in Wellington.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
If Wellingtonians are smart, how do you explain Timotha Paul?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Look, I'm not responsible for timoth and Paul.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I've been very Wellingtonians.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
I don't agree with who views.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Indeed, she's got a majority of six thousand and the
Wellington Central Electorate. How do you explain that.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I would have to interview six thousand people to understand that,
because I don't know.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
What do you do Mark when you've got people actively
selling T shirts to defund the police?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Well? I mean that.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
I guess the question for Chris Hipkins and Ginny is
that they came out and said that there's some of
the issues that she raised it are valid.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
I mean, what are they? What are the issues that
she's raised.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I think the point she raised was the report that
police themselves have commissioned, which is the looking into with
these institutional bias in understanding police delivery is a piece
of work that police themselves have undertaken and have then
found some outcomes that they do need to improve on.
So I think that's the point she was talking about.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Well, on the instruction of Chris Hipkins, who told them
to go away and do a report on institutional bias
and racism and which police is not.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
We do not have a racist police. Are you saying
that our police are racist?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
I think that's what I think you need to read
that report because you're well, it was your report.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
It was your report public safety.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
You're focused on the police pointing the fingers that themselves
are called themselves racist. We're focused exactly the narrative that
the Green said. So, yes, you are aligned.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
We're focused should about that.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Can I speak now? Is that all right? Mike? Am
I allowed to answer? So we're focused on making sure
our communities are safe now, but also breaking the cycle
of crime. And that's the problem with this government is
they have no plan breaking that cycle of crime. The
police undertook a really good piece of research to where
they can improve reaching into a wide range of communities
(02:59):
to make sure that they can police with confidence and
have the trust and confidence of communities. And if we
are serious about improving the reporting, it's a vital that
communities report crime and Mark we should know that.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Said Mike.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Can I just very quickly respond to that if you're
talking about public confidence and police under you guys, public
confidence of police was trending down. The latest report that's
come out around public confidence and police in the last
fel months is it's trending.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Back up again.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
So so public confidence and police is growing. And I
just want to I just want to make this point, Mike.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Do you think it's because of understanding delivery?
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Chris Hipkins when he came into Parliament, his letter of
expectations to the police was around doing a report on
whether or not they're racist. Our letter of expectation was
to get out there and make the public safe.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
That is the difference.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I'm listening to this in the middle. I'm sitting here
gain ding ding in the middle here, Jenny. You you
just sounded to me like a university researcher. And we
did a piece of work and I just thought, oh
my god, all I want to see is some cops
on the corner and feel a bit safe on the street.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
And we came out and delivered one thy eight hundred
extra police. We increased investment in the police by fifty percent.
Under Mark's watch, he's delivered thirteen out of five hundred
police and we've actually seen a cut in the overall
police budget. So if you want to talk about funding
the police, it.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Wasn't actually can I Drew set my number one?
Speaker 3 (04:26):
The police were underfunded when we came into government.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
We immediately budget march, so I let you have your say,
let me have mine. When we come into government, there
are one hundred and twenty million dollar underfunded on the
cost pressures that the previous government hadn't done it. We
immediately did that. Any cost savings. The fifty five million
dollars in cost savings went immediately into the front line
for new equipment.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
And by the way, we were.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Two hundred understaffed when we came into government, so the
previous government allowed numbers to drop by two hundred. We
were working really hard to get above that. And at
the same time, with the numbers that we've got, we've
got crime trending down, we've got a police station opening
in Auckland Central, we've got forty percent more police visibility
and people on the beat, and we've got public confidence
(05:10):
coming back.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Right any a ministerial advisory group saying that you've lost
control of organized crime with a ninety six percent increase
in mean we haven't lost.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Control of organized crime corners. You too, will come back
with more in the moment. Mark Mitchell, Jenny Anderson thirteen
past sixteen past eight Politics when they're Wednesday, Junny and
Mark Jeney just real quick because I want to move
on from crime and punishment in general. But the thing
yesterday with victims of crime, you can't argue with stats,
the stats that the numbers are down. They've met a target.
This is good. Do the gang patch thing police like it.
(05:39):
That's good as well. They're getting some wins, aren't they.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
They've shifted to a new methodology and given the last
release that they put out, which was from a Twitter handle,
you have to question the validity of that data. So, yeah, crime,
you questioned the Justice data because they're doing it quarterly
and it's designed to be put out annually. So it
moves around a twenty eight thousand reduction in one quarter.
(06:05):
Let's see after a year where it sits. That's a
better indicator.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
If it sits down, will you can says that this
is the problem with being in the opposition. You've got
to criticize even when the numbers don't go your way.
If it's down, will you can see that the gang
patch thing has worked is working, and there are fewer
victims of crime in this community and that people do
generally feel safer on the street.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
If that is not just a reduction in family violence.
So that large latest data showed a downturn in family violence.
We know family violence is already underreported, so it would
be disingenuous of the government to pull back from family
violence say this is a win, as is fewer victims
when they're not actually breaking the cycle of quant crime,
they're just sweeping it under the carpet. So we need
to understand where that reduction comes from, particularly if it's
(06:48):
coming from family violence.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
So might really quickly on the numbers.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
We released these numbers three months in government, which showed
that they were that increased massively, and labor was completely
solid on it because it fitted the narrative. Now we
release the numbers sixteen months into government showing that we're
getting a big reduction, and all of a sudden, oh,
I know, you can't trust the numbers.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
It's just a joke.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Okay, your own Justice minister has said that they jump
around and they're volatile, and we need to wait for
entire year, not on quarterly data when that data was
designed to be reported annually.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Old Genny, I've got to change you. Soviet Golden Visa's ginny.
That seems to be working. You bring people into the
country five or ten million dollars. We've had more people
than we've ever had applying at the moment. That's good
for the country, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
It is good, But it's the type of investment we're
seeing from that, So there's been quite a few questions
raised about whether or not that's actually going to result
and the right type of investment. We were lobbied by
those sort of investor types that they're concerned that that
won't necessarily translate into good long term structural investment in
New Zealand. So it does raise questions in that space.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
If it does, will you keep it?
Speaker 2 (07:59):
We want to see the type of investment to make
sure that it's growing our economy. So someone who's wealthy
and coming in here with that passive type of investment,
if it's not actually helping New Zealand here.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
But what I asked you is if they bring their
money in and it helps grow the economy, will you
keep it.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I can't make policy on TB.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
I will always it's an idea.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
If something is working and it's producing good outcomes for
New Zealanders, higher wages, better investment in our infrastructure, of
course it's a good idea.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
What we need, Mark, though, is the ability for these
people to come into the country and buy a house.
And Winston's holding you up on the houses. Why don't
you have you had? What are you going to do
about that? Because you can't have a person coming in
investing ten million dollars on a Golden visa then going
straight to the airbnb because that's not what we want,
is it.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
Yeah, that's been raised as a legitimate issue and obviously
that will have to be worked through. But I mean,
obviously the coalition government just focused on getting good quality
foreign investments to the country. We need that, the Golden visa.
The Golden Visa is proving to be very effective doing that. Labours,
just arguing labor is the part of you know, it's
(09:04):
just what I argue against everything that we're doing as
a country to try and get ourselves ahead. And I
think that's a bit rich after six years of them
and us going back with so rapid Do you.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Jenny, do you trust the media in general. What would
you score be ten? I love them, trust every word
they say. One They're a pile of crap. Where are
you at?
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Look, things are changing a bit. I have to say,
like in the last couple of years of my life,
we're entering a new era where you can't rely on
things to be exactly right, and that data is a
good example of how you tell a story. So yeah,
I'm skeptical sometimes. I think it's always important that people
check what they're seeing from another source. So two sources
(09:44):
is always a good way of understanding what you think
it's an accurate picture.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Where are you at?
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Mark?
Speaker 4 (09:50):
I just think that Look, for us as politicians, we
have to have a relationship with the media.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
We have to work with them.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
I would hope that they are sensitive enough and have
the eq to listen to what the public, the consumers,
the people that actually want to read them are saying,
and that they're able to bring all those journalistic skills
to be here and be able to respond to that.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
I think the challenges that AI bring as well. I mean,
that's a whole new kind of realm of interest.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Very good point, Mike. I saw Mark Mitchell at Food
Stuffs this week with about twenty police officers. Can you
ask him what he was doing there? Frank, what were
you doing there?
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Mark? I was getting it. I was getting a briefing.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
And we're working through facial recognition because I'm a huge
fan of facial recognition. Food Stuffs have been very responsible
in the way that they've tried that. It's been really
rigorous and we're working through. In I was theater show
as a sign of support and solidarity in terms of
rolling this out. I think it's going to be very
effective around staff safety and customer safety.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Good stuff. Nice to see you too. We'll see you
next Wednesday. Jimmy Anderson, Mark Mitchell Exclusive to The Mic
Hosking Breakfast six.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
What do you Do?
Speaker 4 (10:54):
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