Ron Mark MP
Spokesperson for Police
13 JANUARY 2015

Police Minister ‘Zero’ Throws Drivers & Frontline Bobbies under the Bus

New Zealand First is calling on the Minister of Police, Michael Woodhouse, to apologise to frontline police and the public for the failed Reach the Beach campaign that has massively confused Kiwis over road safety.

“There are two Ministers in this government who are sadly out of their depth and Mr Woodhouse is one of them,” says New Zealand First’s Police Spokesperson Ron Mark.

“This campaign is a monumental mess of the Minister’s making and now has the Minister throwing frontline police under the bus.

“Frontline officers will be angry because they were instructed by senior commanders, with the Minister’s agreement, to adopt zero tolerance to minor speed infringements so the buck stops at the guy who is being paid the big bucks for running the show.

“Drivers will be angry for the unnecessary stress they were given tickets and it now appears these should never have been issued.

“Minister Woodhouse cannot use the Nuremburg defence because he’s the boss and in late November when he signed off on the flawed and discredited Reach the Beach campaign he made it very clear to law-abiding Mums and Dads that there would be “ZERO” tolerance.

“Now that it is an embarrassing failure and a PR disaster for both the government and police commanders, the Minister apparently says he had misgivings about the zero tolerance approach. Minister Woodhouse failed to give senior police commanders, the speed zealots, the facts of life so his excuses are late and unconvincing.

“We have also learned from him that fixed and mobile cameras had a tolerance of 4km/h.

“If that is the case, then anyone ticketed by police for speeding on the open road under 10 km/h ought to have the ticket cancelled. For other speed limits, tickets ought to be cancelled if the driver was within the 4 km/h tolerance.

“That’s a gesture to say we mucked up and it won’t happen again but I feel there’s a ‘yeah right’ in that.

“New Zealand First has lodged questions on this to see if the Minister’s rhetoric matches reality. Yet this failed campaign staggeringly reveals one arm of government doesn’t know what the other is up to.

“In late November last year, Transport Minister Simon Bridges was reportedly open to raising the speed limit to 110 km/h on suitable roads but two days later the police and the Police Minister said that speed was criminal with the launch of zero tolerance.

“A campaign he is having concerns about after the event, but that’s 20/20 hindsight and it won’t wash with hard working Kiwis who are mostly good drivers.

“Minister Woodhouse needs a more experienced Minister beside him and I can think of one chomping at her bit to get back into the fray,” says Mr Mark.

ENDS

© Scoop Media