Mahesh Bindra MP

Spokesperson for Corrections
3 NOVEMBER 2016

Police Vetting Bill is Just Money-Grabbing by the Government

Amending the Police Act to allow the police to charge for the vetting service they provide is nothing short of profiteering, says New Zealand First.

“New Zealand First did not support the Policing (Cost Recovery) Amendment Bill which passed in Parliament – police should not be charging for core practice,” says New Zealand First List MP Mahesh Bindra who is on the Law and Order Select Committee.

“When the committee started working on this legislation, there was an indication that the fee would be $5. Now it is $8.50 (an increase of 70%).

“The fee might not stay at $8.50 either as the Commissioner of Police will have the ability to increase the fee without bringing the legislation back to the Parliament.

“About 500,000 vetting requests were processed by the police last year which cost the government $2.2 million. At $8.50 a request the government has the potential to collect $4.25 million. This is a straight profit of just over $2 million.

“This not ‘cost recovery’ this is profiteering. Our community groups, schools and communities deserve better,” says Mr Bindra.

ENDS

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