Our bargaining negotiations with the Police Association are top of mind this week. You may have seen headlines claiming we consider some Police staff to be overpaid, or that performance-related pay was being considered. I don't agree that such accounts are accurate but I can't reveal the reality of the situation, much as I would like to, because our hands are tied by "good faith bargaining". However, like other state sector organisations, we can't dodge playing our part in the nation's belt tightening. Neither should we.

 

I understand many staff are concerned about the possible introduction of performance-based pay. I have assured them we won't return to the system which existed in the late 1990s. I still have nightmares about the diaries people needed to keep to prove their worth. Call me old fashioned but most of us just wanted to get on with the job rather than haggle over the division of a few dollars. Any new system must be far removed from that and have the buy-in of staff and their service organisations. Nothing will occur in the years that follow without that buy-in.

 

Don't be fooled by some of the negotiating tactics that have emerged in the past week - what counts is what happens at the bargaining table. I'm confident a fair deal will be struck. That's foremost in my mind and I'm not in the business of short-changing our staff.

 

Around the organisation there are a number of congratulations in order. Firstly to Detective Inspector Scott Beard, Detective Senior Sergeant Gerry Whitley and Auckland staff for the tireless work which led to arrests in relation to the apparent attempted shooting of a colleague in Auckland. The incident was a shocking reminder of the dangers police face. This week we've marked the 35th anniversary of the killing of a Traffic Officer on duty in Taranaki - it's not hard to see how this latest incident could have also ended in tragedy. Suc