Police Minister George Hawkins is dangerously out of touch with officers and the public of New Zealand, ACT Police Spokesman Ken Shirley said today.

"Mr Hawkins today defended the 'three-contacts' rule which, in practice, forces Highway Patrol officers to issue three tickets every hour without discretion.

"Speaking at the Trafinz Meeting in Hamilton, Mr Hawkins said:

'These minimum contact guidelines are essential.. . . . Contact guidelines are here to stay, and I support them wholeheartedly'.

"Mr Hawkins has lost any sense of reality if he believes New Zealanders support his blatant money-spinning agenda. He is out of sync with the members of the Highway Patrol who have to comply with his silly rules.

"Mr Hawkins sees New Zealand drivers as a lucrative source of revenue, and this rule is all about increasing the Government's coffers rather than reducing the road toll," Ken Shirley said.

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