14 March 2013 MEDIA STATEMENT

We’ve reached the slippery slope

As predicted, the pressure of budget cuts the National Government has put on our Police is starting to bite, Labour’s Law and Order spokesman Kris Faafoi said today.

“We’ve now got a Police station in downtown Auckland closing down and business owners are concerned about safety in one of the busiest areas in the country.

“This closure and others planned for Auckland is proof that the Police force is being forced to make extreme choices in order to live under the budget pressure Anne Tolley has put it under.

“Front line policing is under increasing pressure as our officers are asked to do much more with much less. The closure of the Auckland downtown station comes as other stations around the country have their front of house staffing cut.

“Whether it is the closure of stations, cutting staff levels in community stations, a sharp fall in the number of 111 call takers, or the ability of Police to monitor people on e-bail, our front line is being put under huge pressure by the Government.

“This month’s Police Association magazine warns of the long term dangers of budget pressure. Sadly I believe we are starting to see those dangers emerge,” Kris Faafoi said.
ends

© Scoop Media

Mighty River: 'Mum And Dad’ Investors Myth Busted

Green Party research, confirmed by Treasury, shows that half of the shares in Mighty River Power that National sold to retail investors went to just 13,000 people and that 10 percent of the retail shares went to just 400 wealthy people and organisations, Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.

The sale of Mighty River Power saw 113,000 retail investors, referred to as ‘mum and dad’ investors by the National Government, buy 26.9 percent of the company. Analysis by the Greens and Treasury shows that half of those shares were, in fact, purchased by fewer than 13,000 people who bought an average of nearly $35,000 worth of shares...

“The truth is that 98 percent of New Zealanders bought no shares at all. Half the retail shares went to just 0.3 percent of the population, and a tiny group of just 400 wealthy individuals and organisations got 10 percent of the retail shares. More>>