We all recognise the damage crime can do in our communities. It is not just the victim that suffers but their entire neighbourhoods are shaken by burglaries or assaults, let alone more serious crimes.

When I first stood for election in Mt Roskill in 2016, a wave of shop robberies was underway and many people were scared and worried. Labour joined the calls from communities across the country to prevent crime as a priority and to help everyone to feel safe whether at work, on local streets, or in the home.

We campaigned to increase the number of Police officers at a time when the previous government neglected the force for much of its time in office. On entering government we committed to adding 1800 new Police officers across New Zealand.

I am delighted to acknowledge that today we have made tremendous progress. Since we formed the government, 1,825 new Police officers have hit our streets across the country. Out of these, 196 have come to Auckland Central and a further 298 to Manukau.

We are also working with the Police to make sure that good officers stay in the force longer and not leave early. We are also working hard to make sure that the Police force reflect the communities they serve. There is a 29% increase in women constables joining the force and significant diverse in ethnicity. The Tamaki Makurau Maori Pacific and Ethnic services team has expanded recently with the staff representing many diverse communities.

Keeping our communities safe is not just about putting feet on the ground.

That is why we have also given the Police more powers to search and seize by targeting manufactures and suppliers of synthetic drugs to get them off our streets.

We have also installed over 500 fog cannons in dairies, liquor stores and petrol stations around New Zealand to support our small businesses so that they don’t go and do it on their own and we want to reduce the risk of aggravated robberies that have been targeting them. This policy has been a massive success with a large drop in the number of robberies of small businesses and a very high uptake of the cannons.

Our Government takes community safety seriously. We are making the investments needed to intervene early and prevent people from breaking the law or committing more serious crimes.

We were all shocked by the events of March 15, an event made possible through a mix of violent extremism and the availability of military-style weapons. Our Prime Minister and government took decisive action in response.

We banned military-styled semi-automatic and assault rifles and introduced new firearms laws backed by tougher penalties. We are working on launching a gun register with stricter licencing rules. Just last week we made an announcement about our new proposals on firearms prohibition orders that will keep guns out of higher-risk people with a history of violent offending.

Our reform of firearms laws will help to ensure that responsible, law-abiding citizens have access to firearms for legitimate purposes, while minimising the potential for gangs and extremists to do harm.

I am proud to be part of a government that is working hard to keep our communities safe. While the Government plays a pivotal role, I think all of us, as citizens and residents, can do little things each day with the same goal in mind.

I want to mention groups that are active like our Maori, Pacific, and Ethnic wardens, Neighbourhood patrol groups, community organisations that work in community groups and many others who work tirelessly to make our communities and neighbourhoods a safer place for us.

We can all get to know our neighbours, greet locals who pass by when you are out walking, and report suspicious behaviour or concerns about family violence to our local community constable or police station. We can all do our part to make sure that each and every one of us feels safe in our communities.

-Michael Wood, MP for Mount Roskill, Auckland. Parliamentary Under Secretary to the Minister for Ethnic Communities.