Two votes in Parliament last Wednesday on first responders and police dogs highlights the differences between Labour MP Rachel Boyack and myself.
The Protection for First Responders Bill is about ambulance officers, firefighters, police, nurses, doctors and corrections officers who put themselves in harm’s way to help others and keep our community safe. It is appalling when they are assaulted doing this work and it is happening more often.
St John’s plea for support for the Bill reported 950 assaults on their staff. Nurses recorded an increase of violence in A&E with 90% of staff being assaulted sometime during their career. People who assault these frontline staff deserve tougher penalties. I am pleased to have supported this Bill and am at a loss as to why Ms Boyack voted against it.
I also voted for changes to the Policing Act to better protect Police dogs. 24 have been killed in the line of duty. The Justice Ministry advised that it is an anomaly that under the Animal Welfare Act a person can be sentenced to five years imprisonments for killing a pet dog, but intentionally killing a police dog is deemed of lesser value with a maximum two years imprisonment.
The penalty is five years in Australia and Canada and 10 years in the US. The Police Association strongly supported the change. I have also heard from Nelson Police dog handlers angered that Nelson’s Labour MP voted against it.
These proposed penalties are not harsh and are maximum sentences. Judges rarely use the maximums set by Parliament. Most sentenced prisoners only serve about half their actual sentence with parole.
We should all support those who help in emergencies and work to keep Nelson safe. The local ACT MP voted with me on both bills but both were voted down. All three of Nelson’s MPs should have voted for protecting our first responders and police dogs.
