Chris Cahill: Police Association President on the Government's officer recruitment target, recruitment drive into Australia

The Government's target of recruiting 500 new police officers has been held up yet again.  

A briefing sent to the Government suggests the two-year goal's been set back, and Police expect it'll be by August next year. 

That's nine months after the original target and two months behind the Police Commissioner's revised deadline. 

They’re now looking at launching a recruitment drive into Australia – the place we’re losing officers to.  

Police Association President Chris Cahill told Mike Hosking it's a la la land idea, as poached officers would get a 30% drop in wages, higher house prices, higher cost of living, and lower superannuation.  

He says NZ Police need to start looking at the things that would make a real difference for officers in New Zealand, such as the remuneration structure. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good idea or desperation. As the five hundred new cop
promise gets delayed yet again, they think now it's going
to go out till maybe August of next year. The
new plan is to target Australia. They of course have
been targeting US Chris car Hill's Police Association president and
as with us, Chris, good morning to.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
You, Good morning Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Are we getting a bit hung up on numbers? I mean,
how many of these five hundred do we desperately need
right here, right now? Or is it more about a
political promise.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
There's certainly a big element of political promise in it.
I mean we've got eleven of the five hundred so fast.
That's actually half far away. So I think we need
to just stop talking about dates in the future and
just concentrate it is desperate in some areas, some of
the smaller rural places in the East Coast, far North,
thus struggling with numbers big time. That makes a big
impact a lot of the gappers in Auckland. So you

(00:49):
can cover it because you've got bigger numbers, but over
time it has a real impact on staffing up there.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
We are not going who would we get out of
Australia given there here telling us look at look at
you know Lebar and the sunshine, and here's some money.
But what have we got to offer.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
La la land ideas? And now I can see the campaign,
I'll come and enjoy a thirty percent drop of wages,
higher house prices, higher cost of living in law superinnuation.
It's a great one here and they'll be crying up.
It's just a silly idea and police need to start
concentrating on the real issues. I mean, one of the
key things they have to look at as their immuneration structure.
You've got a system where cops take twenty one years

(01:25):
to get the top of a constable's pay band, nurses
and teachers take seven. Look at the things that will
make a real difference in New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
Being a policeman. Correct me if I'm wrong, Chris. But
getting recruiting police people is a problem all over the world.
I mean, it's a crappy old world and it's hard work.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Is that fear, Yeah, it's definitely fair. There's multiple reasons.
A couple that stand out seem to be police officers
themselves are not telling family and friends to join their
saying the job's chained is to come too dangerous, has
come to hard and their mental health the other things
to be used. Just don't see a job that requires
you to work twenty four to seven, seven days a

(02:01):
week as a career choice they're interested in. And that's
a real concern, that's a real show. I mean, we've
got fifteen percent youth unemployment, eighteen to twenty four year olds.
You can't recruit in that environment. What's it going to
look like when the economy picks up? So got to
look at some of the fundamental issues I think.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Okay, Chris, always good to have you on the program.
Appreciate it. Chris Calnhill, who's the Police Association president. For
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