Another round of Police cost cutting is on the cards with proposed changes to the Police Act, National's Police spokesman Tony Ryall said today.

"The Government is promoting 'bad faith' bargaining with Police officers.

"Every year the Government gives the Police extra money to fund the pay round in addition to their usual budget.

"If the Police hierarchy and staff can't reach a pay settlement they then go to final arbitration. An arbitrator sets the rate. Usually a settlement is reached before this.

"But the new Police Amendment Bill changes all that.

"The Government wants to make the amount of money the Police have left in their budget a key factor in any arbitrator's decision.

"This means the Police would have to fund any pay increases from within their own budget.

"That's what Mr Hawkins tried last year. We ended up with staff cuts, recruitment freezes, cellphone cuts, DNA testing cuts, raincoats being shared and all sorts of other cost saving ideas.

"National remains sceptical of this provision in the Bill. We think it's another example of the Hawkins-Robinson rift. Mr Hawkins should leave the Commissioner to run the Police, and Mr Hawkins should focus on getting more resources for the Police," Mr Ryall said.

Ends

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