Congratulations on the new portfolios. What’s your message to Police staff?

Thank you for the way you have dug deep to serve and protect our country during Covid-19, which changed policing overnight with checkpoints, enforcing lockdown rules, working with new legislation and still dealing with core policing. Officers in my own electorate, Whangaparāoa, have had to isolate away from their families after having contact with Covid-19 cases while at work. Thank you for the professionalism, dedication and courage you ensure is always present for the communities you serve and protect.

Do you think policing has changed much since you left in 2002?

The principles are the same in terms of understanding and working with the community, but there have been big changes in technology, tactics and tactical options. The arrival of meth in New Zealand has made policing more dangerous, followed by the 501s, the rise in gang numbers and the willingness for gang members to carry and use weapons. The lack of respect shown towards police and the public by gang members is a big problem that needs addressing.

You were a dog handler. Do you have a view on how the new two-up Delta crews will work?

It’s worth trialling and should provide more tactical options at an armed incident. The second officer may be able to accompany the dog handler while tracking at some incidents or carry out area patrols in the vehicle.

After you left Police, you spent time working in Iraq. Tell us about that.

I travelled to Iraq in 2002 to establish a security and risk management programme for the Coalition Provisional Authority set up after the fall of Saddam Hussein. A group of Kiwis with AOS/STG or SAS experience formed a four-man team to protect diplomats, politicians and NGO workers. I learnt a lot about nation building and saw many examples of what works and what doesn’t. Iraq is a beautiful country with an incredible history but is still in a serious rebuilding phase.

You have a reputation as a negotiator, both in Police and in your work in the Middle East, which must be useful, but do any other policing-type skills transfer to Parliament?

Most police officers develop strong negotiation and communication skills because of the work they do, and they often underrate how transferable their skills might be to the private sector, here and internationally. There are times in the debating chamber when I would like to have my police dog.

How have the past couple of years of Covid-19 affected you?

My electorate staff and I are constantly dealing with the human cost of Kiwis being stranded and separated from loved ones, for example, trying to help children get home to be with a dying parent. As in policing, some cases sit heavily. I miss my son Nathan, who lives in Australia. I haven’t seen him for two years.

Do you still have a dog?

I have two miniature schnauzers. Molly, who is seven, came into my life when her mum, Sarah, and I met. Arthur is a year old and is my daughter and son-in-law’s dog. We adopted him when they headed to teaching jobs in a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory. I’m trying to teach Arthur how to be a rat catcher. Molly thinks she is too posh to catch rats.

Tell us about your family life and what you do in your spare time?

I have a big, blended family with most of the kids grown. My partner, Sarah, also had a policing career. We love spending time with the kids and walking the dogs. I love spearfishing and surfing. I co-captain the Parliamentary rugby team, which I really enjoy. Several of our senior members are police officers and we play around the country raising money for charity.

What’s the answer to the proliferation of firearms in our communities?

• Leadership is No 1. We need a police minister who is fully engaged and able to provide a strong voice around the Cabinet table and to back the Commissioner and the frontline to use every tool available to police gangs.
• Continued strengthening of inter-agency cooperation and intelligence sharing.
• A dedicated taskforce.
• Firearms prohibition orders.
• More tactical training for the frontline and allowing officers to target and harass gangs and organised crime groups.

Your name was mentioned during the recent leadership changes in the National Party. Is that still a goal?

No. Chris Luxon is a good friend of mine and will make an excellent prime minister in 2023. I asked for the Police portfolio and will do the best I can to support an organisation that I want to see continue to be the best police service in the world.