An offer by police of a $5000 general wage increase for sworn officers after years of high inflation has been labelled “insulting” by one officer. 

The Police Association has rejected the offer as frustrations mount in the thin blue line at the scale of the offer following lengthy negotiations. 

An email from the association to all constabulary members viewed by the Herald said the offer included a $5000 general wage increase backdated from November 1, 2023, with police allowances increasing 5.25 per cent. 

That would have been followed by a general wage increase of 4 per cent from September 1, 2024, with an allowance increase of 4 per cent, followed by another pay increase of 4 per cent from July 1, 2025, accompanied by an allowance increase of 4 per cent. 

”It’s honestly insulting,” said one officer, who wanted to remain anonymous. ”A lot of policing is done on the goodwill of the troops. Always has done but now that is being eroded.” 

The email from the Police Association to members echoed those sentiments. 

”It is an insult that the first increase is not backdated to July 1, 2023 and the second increase is not effective until September 1, 2024. For the record, all the pay delay is attributed to NZ Police, Treasury, Public Service Commission and successive governments.” 

Police Association president Chris Cahill will be getting feedback from members over the coming days. Photo / NZME 

Police managers and civilian employees are offered a health check benefit in their collective agreements, but this again was not offered to constabulary members, the email says. 

”To not even offer the $600 annual health check benefit to constabulary members, where your ongoing employment is reliant on passing medical and physical standards, is an affront.” 

Police Association president Chris Cahill said he wouldn’t comment until he had had the chance to get feedback from members. 

Another officer took a similarly dim view of the offer. 

“No one is in the job because they want to make money but to take allowances away, people are going to be worse off,” they said. 

“People are going to leave in droves. It’s so bad, it’s like they have just given us the fingers. They campaigned on tougher on crime and tougher on gangs ... and yet they are taking money away. It’s worse than an offer we said no to. People will leave and if they don’t leave they will be really disengaged. It’s like giving us the middle finger. 

“National campaigned on being tougher on crime ... then they come back with this and it’s lower than the last (offer) we voted on and declined on, and not just lower but they are taking away our allowances. 

“One of our core businesses is about valuing people ... we aren’t valued, we aren’t worth it. That’s what it feels like anyway.” 

Police Minister Mark Mitchell has been approached for comment. Photo / Mark Mitchell 

It follows police rejecting an offer from the previous government in September last year, which included a permanent $4000 pay increase backdated to April last year and a 4 per cent increase from April this year. 

Police Minister Mark Mitchell has been approached for comment, as has the police. 

One of the Government’s central law and order policies, agreed between National and New Zealand First, was to train 500 new officers in two years. 

Mitchell got himself into a tangle when he appeared to announce the policy had been extended to three years, citing recruitment challenges. He quickly had to correct himself after NZ First intervened. 

Both Mitchell and Police Commissioner Andrew Coster have spoken publicly about how the two-year deadline was ambitious and how police recruitment was being challenged on multiple fronts, including by recuritment drives from Australia. 

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime. 

- NZ Herald