Mark Mitchell: Police Minister on the lack of enforcement of the ban of smoking and vaping in cars with children

The Police Minister says he has more pressing priorities than the enforcement of a law banning smoking or vaping in cars with children. 

Last year, Newstalk ZB revealed Police never updated systems so officers could issue fines and had no plans to.  

Police say the systems remain the same fourteen months on, and no fines have been issued. 

Mark Mitchell told Ryan Bridge this is an operational issue for Police, and he's focused on other things. 

He says his priority is getting on top of aggravated robberies and other violent crime. 

Mitchell says Police have been very clear they prefer to educate parents rather than fine them, and he supports that approach. 

He says despite this, the legislation remains, and they're still working on a system to action it. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Remember in twenty twenty when the government passed the law
to ban smoking and vaping in the car with kids,
Remember that, And they said they'd go out there and
they would slap you with a fine or I didn't know,
drag you off and.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
A rest you.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Well, it turns out not a single person has been
even fined. The cops said a year ago that they've
got computer system and problems. Apparently computer says no won't
allow them to issue fines, and so they didn't. They
also didn't believe it was the right way. They were
taking a health first approach.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
At the time.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
The minister told them to sort it out, but it
still hasn't happened. Apparently Mark Mitchell is the police minister
with me this morning. Minister, good morning, good morning Ron.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
And you're the only one that i'd get up at
quarter past five in the morning to discuss fape with. Mate,
I'll tell you that.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Well, well, I'm happy, I'm happy you're here. I'm happy
you're here. It because because look, I don't think you'll
be listened to. It's important you listened to.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
But what's going on listening to her? Right? I'm listening
to her right, don't you worry that might have been
the previous government's priority. My priority was stopping ram raids,
getting on top of aggravated robbery violent crime, which under
the previous government six years as a country we've seen skyrocket.
The police are about.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
They're voping in cars, are smoking in cars.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
I'm just addressing the point that you're saying. Are the
police listening to me? Absolutely they are. They're responding to
my expectation that I released publicly.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
On this one. Are they listening on this one?

Speaker 3 (01:25):
Well, the vaping is that you're going to talk to
the police. That is an operational issue, and so they're
very clear about the fact that they prefer a health
response around this, and that is quite simple educating parents
not to do it, and I totally support them in
that view. However, however, there is legislation there. They're looking
at how they can operationalize that. That does mean trying

(01:47):
to come up with a fines type system.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Here's the problem, and do work on that.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Okay, that's all great, but here's the problem. The law
was passed back in twenty twenty. How is it that
we're almost in twenty twenty six and they have never
bothered to come up with a system to introduce a
fine that Parliament said was a potential punishment.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Well, I think there's a couple of things. Number one,
I think that it is an operational question around how
they operational? Operational is it that is for police?

Speaker 2 (02:18):
But don't think number two you.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
Have to do it number two. But the important thing
is to your question is there was a change of
government with a different set of priorities, and my priorities
the ministers the incoming minister is that we had seen
a massive increase in violent crime and total communities were
no longer.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
You are not wrong and you're not wrong. But I
guess the thing is is it sort of just up
to police what they do. I mean, Parliament can say, yeah,
our pass this law. I want to do this, and
I want to do that, and here's the punishments, and
police are like, well we like that one and we
don't like that one, so we'll make up our own minds.

Speaker 3 (02:54):
No, I think that the Parliament sides to give police
powers and then police have to use have used judicial
use of those powers. I can't interfere operationally. There is
a separation that's extremely important that that is in place.
I don't get to tell the police choquestion of how
or when he's going to deploy his staff. What I

(03:16):
do is I set our policies in terms of public safety,
which I very clearly did, and I released my letter
publicly when I became minister, and there was a big
focus on increasing visibility, on getting on top of violent crime.
That was my propos were my priority enough and the
police and the police are responding to those priorities.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, no, fair enough.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Hey, just before we go this idea of sort of
banning that do police need more powers to move on
homeless people or beggars or rough sleepers?

Speaker 3 (03:44):
Yeah, I mean this is this is the Labor Party
trying to create a whole lot of hysteria around the
fact that they're trying to create the impression that we
won't let people come into Auckland cvds. That is not true.
Quite simply, what we are trying to doing, working hard
on is making sure it's a really complex issue. When
I sort of when I was dealing with reducing violent

(04:08):
crime in our Auckland CBD, which the police have been
very successful at doing, we had fifteen rough sleepers, most
of them had somewhere to go and sleep, most of
them had a residence that they go and sleep. They're
making a community that they're making a decision to congregate
as a community in the CBD and what there's a
whole lot of social issues there. There's intimidation issues, there

(04:30):
was risks to the public and there was risk to
themselves as well.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
So did they have home, Yes, they.

Speaker 3 (04:36):
Had absolutely, absolutely so. But what we're doing as we're
recognizing and saying that there's a homelessness problem, I am
I am reinstating in one working very closely with with
Simeon Brown on this, who's the Minister for Auckland And
I'm reinstating my stakeholder group which is the heart of

(04:57):
the city, residence and rape pass groups, social service providers,
government agencies, local government, CPNZ, Mary Warden's We all came together.
It was very effective in dealing with the crime.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
And did they want your homelessness ban?

Speaker 3 (05:11):
Well, there was a lot of discussion around there. Absolutely
when we were talking at when we're discussing this, that's
not part of the government agenda at the moment, it's
it is certainly We've got a private members bill in
the Biscuit team from Ryan Hamilton, a very good one
that he's brought forward, which is a move on order
which gives the police the ability to go and pick
someone up that is living on the street, that is

(05:33):
in danger, that it is current problems for members of
the public and move them to a safe location with
them to a.

Speaker 2 (05:41):
House, not to the next minister. I hope we have
to leave it there. I appreciate your time this morning.
That is Mark Mitchell, Policemanister.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
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