He poroporoaki tenei ki te hunga na ratou i whakato nga rakau a puna-te-aroha, a maturu-roimata me te rangimarie ki a tatou e pukai pani nei, kei te apiha whakamutunga o te Rua Tekau Ma Waru, e Koro Bunty ` moe mai ra. Whakarongo ki te tangi a te huia kia hui, kia huihuia, huia, tuia tuituia tatou ki a Te Hui e oha atu nei. Ko Mihingarangi tenei. E mihi atu nei. Nau mai, hoki mai ra. Welcome to series three of The Hui ` Maori current affairs for all New Zealanders. E taro ake nei ` For years she dreamed of becoming a cop. But despite passing all the tests, Nen Tulloch has been rejected by police not once, but twice. I wanna know. I wanna know why. We ask our top Maori cop why. You're looking for 1800 new recruits. You don't want Nen Tulloch; who do you want? And he's the first Maori to lead a major political party. We speak with National's new leader, Simon Bridges. 12th leader of the New Zealand National party. Nga kupu hauraro na Glenna Casalme Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018 Karahuihui mai. For over 20 years Nen Tulloch has dreamed of becoming a policewoman. Through her iwi, community and sporting networks, Nen is a familiar face in the Bay of Plenty. She's well known for going above and beyond to serve her community. In fact you would think she's exactly the type of person Police are looking for as they search far and wide ` even abroad ` to recruit new cops. But unfortunately for Nen, she isn't. And after four years of blood, sweat and tears, she's speaking out. Anei tana korero. We want New Zealand to be the safest country in the world. But we can't do it without your help. (BANG!) It's the fresh face of the force. The New Zealand Police recruitment video shows a diverse, multicultural and gender-balanced New Zealand Police. New Zealand Police are looking for new recruits who can make a real difference. Only problem is... it's not. The New Zealand Police aren't meeting their diversity targets, particularly when it comes to and women. We want fit New Zealanders. Whoo! Not that fit. So what's holding you back? Well, apparently, I don't meet the core values of the New Zealand Police. Which of those values don't you meet? That's the thing, Mihi. They're not telling me anything. The milling town of Kawerau is home to Helen 'Nen' Tulloch, a community volunteer who has long dreamed of becoming a cop. But despite being everything the force is looking for, Nen has been turned away not once, but twice. So let's talk about these core values. Mm-hm. One of them is being committed to Maori and the Treaty. You've got that one covered. CHUCKLES: Yeah. 'Empathy, and value diversity'. Do you? Yeah, definitely. I think I do. I live up to those values in my personal life, so it's not hard to live up to them for the police. 'Professionalism, respect and integrity'? And here we have all of these articles on you fighting the floods and volunteering for the community. Which one of those core values, do you think that you may have failed? I don't know. I'm lost for answers. I thought I was doing a good thing, helping the community. Just tell me if you've got any of these. Yeah. Drug offences? Drink driving? No. Violent? No. Fraud? No. (CHUCKLES) Anything you can think of? Nothing. Despite being in her early 40s, Nen sailed through the fitness tests and aced the academic requirements. She was almost accepted; all that was left was an on-the-job training test led by officers from the Whakatane police station. The exercise is known as 'Scope'. Scope's when you go out with the police and you do four shifts. You're on the beat. Yeah, yeah. So this is how you performed with them. Yeah. And you're just there to observe. What's that say? Recommend. And? Recommend. And? Recommended, recommended. So you were recommended. Yup, after Scope, that looks like` For all of those shifts. Mm-hm. What happened? The first two shifts that I had on Scope, loved it. The police that were in charge, they guided me and said, 'Look, you can do as much as you can,' like get involved, and that was cool. And then the next two shifts was when it went a bit pear-shaped. I said to the sergeant, 'You know, when we go around town, I'm gonna know just about everyone. 'Do you want me to stay back? Or how would you like me?' And he said to me, 'Just be yourself.' I said, 'OK, cos people will come up and give me a kiss. 'Is that OK? That's how we are.' 'No, no problem.' 'And so my nephew came and, you know, said, 'Hi, Auntie,' and was dirty dancing and, 'Arrest me, Auntie, arrest me,' and being a laugh. And this guy turned around, and he said, 'I'm gonna arrest him.' I said, 'What?!' I said, 'He's just having a laugh.' He goes, 'Yeah, but look at him.' So I actually asked another policeman. I said, 'Do you mind if I run something by you? 'Is this right? Is this what you do? Cos I don't want someone that's just having a laugh getting arrested.' He said, 'Mate, we're not gonna blimmin' arrest him. That's too much paperwork. He's all right.' But that guy took offence to the fact that I had queried, I had questioned. Documents show Nen began her Scope training on August 13th 2015, then a day later, she received another email from Police confirming she'd been selected to enrol for police college. Then, eight weeks later, she was called by HR to say her application had been declined.. She applied for a review and waited with baited breath. Meanwhile in April last year, her home town of Edgecumbe was devastated by floods, and her community instinct kicked in. On Facebook, every day there was people going, 'Oh my gosh, this has been stolen,' or 'That's been looted,' and (SIGHS) I just got sick and tired of hearing about it, and no one was doing anything. And so I thought, 'Well, let's get the community on board.' She made headlines for her mahi. One woman has taken matters into her own hands, setting up a night patrol. Now, Nen, how did it go last night? Hi, Duncan! Yeah, it was awesome, actually. Freezing cold. But not everyone was supportive. Nen says the local Whakatane Police labelled her a vigilante and accused her of carrying an offensive weapon ` a hockey stick. I had to giggle, because I'm a hockey player. I've been a hockey player since I was 4. What was the hockey stick for? To fend off dogs, cos there was quite a few stray dogs around, in the dark. Having been rejected by the police, she'd all but given up on her dream. But a chance meeting with the Deputy Chief Executive Maori, Wallace Haumaha, turned things around. Assistant Commissioner Haumaha appeared on the Hui to explain. This has come to my attention, as you're well aware of. Yes. So where are you at with it? Well, I've asked for a national review of this applicant's application, and that's going to the National Board, which I've given clear instructions that if there are issues and challenges to the process, then we should be open and transparent enough to look at it, review the process and then provide satisfaction not only to that applicant but to the people who support her. I would expect that if there is an opportunity for this to regain its momentum, then I would ask that this person be placed in another area, and also be spoken to by commissioned officer outside of the area. At the time of that interview, Wally Haumaha asked Nen Tulloch and the Hui not to broadcast her story until he had time to organise her review. But other media did anyway, and it would be 18 months before she was called back to be re-interviewed, and then finally to a meeting in Whakatane, with the police. Nen took along some whanau support and Bay of Plenty regional councillor Tipene Marr. Do you think Helen would make a good policewoman? Oh, of course. She should've been in long ago. They should've just got on with it and recruited her. She's got all the attributes ` fit and healthy, and a mother ` you know, all those attributes you need to have that experience to relate to kids. In the end, none of those attributes would matter. In the same week, November last year, she receive a letter from Police, telling her that the decision to decline her application would stand. She's never received a copy of that report. She's only ever been told she doesn't meet the core values of the New Zealand Police. So we've secured a privacy waiver from Nen, and we're gonna ask the questions for her. Are you ready for us to inquire as to why you didn't meet the core value of the police? Yes, please. Cos I have no idea. And hand on heart, I don't think there's anything on me, myself, personally. What if it's not good news? Then good. I wanna know. I wanna know why. After the break, we head to Police National Headquarters for answers. You're looking for 1800 new recruits. You don't want Nen Tulloch; who do you want? Ka auraki mai ano Te Hui akuanei. Hoki mai ano. Nen Tulloch has spent nearly four years trying to become a policewoman. Despite a national review of her case, she is no closer to understanding why she doesn't meet the core values of the New Zealand Police. She's given The Hui permission to inquire on her behalf, signing a privacy waiver so we can investigate the issues surrounding her failed attempt to join Police. Kay Ryan is the Head of People for the New Zealand Police. I've come to Wellington to ask her why Helen Tulloch, or Nen, as she's known in Kawerau, doesn't meet the core values of the police. Well, I don't intend on, and Police don't intend on talking specifically about Nen. Happy to comply with the Privacy Act and provide the information to her or yourselves in due course. Cos that puts her in a difficult situation. Because she's been declined now twice from the Police, and she's applying for jobs, and no one wants to touch her because the New Zealand Police don't want her, and she can't even tell them why. We did meet with Nen and advise her of the reasons for the decline of her application. I know she had whanau support with her during that time, and we spent quite some time explaining the reasons for the decline of the application. So she didn't meet the core values of the New Zealand Police? I'm not gonna comment on the specifics, but more than happy to release the file to you or to the` Nen herself. I've sent you the privacy waiver, to ask questions on her behalf, and I'm here now, so I kind of expected that you'd have provided the files so we could understand what's going on here. Yeah. Well, we'll` (STAMMERS) We'll adhere with the Privacy Act request, but at this point in time, I don't have the file, and I'm not prepared to speak to the specifics. But it has been three weeks, and we've come all the way to Wellington, and we're sitting here and we still don't know officially why she has been rejected twice from the Police. Yeah. We're not gonna speak to the specifics, but we will provide the file. So the Hui raised this issue with the police more than a year ago now, and you're the head of HR, and you haven't read her file. It has gone to our National Selection Panel, who have reviewed the file, and that has many sets of eyes that go across it, of our trusted staff members` Yes, but they've put you up as the spokesperson for the police` Yeah, and I can talk to the broader` I'm here asking questions on Nen's behalf, and you don't know anything. I mean, I absolutely know about the recruitment process, and I can talk to that, but I am not going to talk to the specifics` Well, let's talk about the recruitment process. Is the recruitment process robust enough for Maori? I believe it is. And we interrogate our process to make sure that there's no bias within it, and we absolutely look at where people drop out of the process and make sure we measure ethnicity and dropout rates, just because we absolutely want to make sure that we're doing the right thing by people who come into process. But as I've said, 80% of people who enter the process are disappointed, because we have very very strict criteria around becoming a police officer, for obvious reasons. You know, taking people's liberty away from them is very important, and we need very very good judgment and real alignment to our values. Do you accept there's an unconscious bias in the police? Oh, there's unconscious bias across New Zealand. I mean, we all bring our own biases` Within the Police? Yeah. I do. Absolutely. The Commissioner has talked to that. And we train our recruitment staff in unconscious bias, because it is really important to ensure that our people are well-trained and really understanding. And so when you add to the unconscious bias with the police force, the fact that Maori are more likely than any other culture to be apprehended and charged by police, how do you balance that out when you're dealing with someone like Nen Tulloch? I'll pass that on to Wally, that one. OK. Wallace Haumaha is Aotearoa's top Maori cop. After an interview with the Hui in 2016, he ordered a review into Nen's application. So why did she not pass? Well, look, she may not have passed for several reasons, those of which I'm not privy to at this point, but what I can say is that, you know` But you and Kay Ryan, to be fair, have come to this interview with ample time and opportunity to learn about these things` Yeah. ...and no one can tell me why it is. She says, 'Apparently, I don't meet the core values of the police.' That's what she's been told. Yeah. Of those values, what doesn't she meet? I don't believe that that's the only reason that Helen may have been not accepted into the organisation. We don't know why. We still don't know why. Yeah. And I guess you've asked for disclosure around that, in the course of time. I've sent the privacy waiver. She wants to know why cos she wants to be able to move on with her life. She wants to know why she didn't meet the core values and what else there might be. Absolutely. And I think she is entitled to know that. And my expectation would've been that the commissioned officer who gave her the notice that her application had been declined would've gone through a process with her to let her know why she wasn't acceptable to come into the organisation. I'd have to go back again and have a look at those reasons for the decline in her application. But at this point in time, I'm not aware of them. You're looking for 1800 new recruits. You don't want Nen Tulloch; who do you want? Oh, look, at the moment we had 400 applications from Maori women. Out of those 400 applications, 19% of those made the cut, as opposed to 17% of the general population. I'm about to go round the countryside on a recruiting campaign, talking to Maori leaders, tribal region to tribal region, to try and bring more Maori applicants into the organisation. We currently sit around 12.3% of the overall numbers inside the police, and we want to be up by 15% by 2020. My target, my ideal target, would be up around 25%. Here's a woman who volunteers to protect people's homes when there's been a disaster, a person who's involved in community sports, a person who cares about her community and does everything and anything she possibly can. What are you gonna say to th`? Why would they want to even attempt to join Police? Look, I have total empathy for Nen Tulloch and the fact that she didn't make the final cut. But, you know, I hope our people look much broader than that and understand that policing is a long-term game. And the position of our people in the criminal justice system does require us to take a firm hand in looking for people with the right skills, the right attributes to come into the organisation. We've been having this conversation for a long time now. Here we are; we've come all the way to Wellington. Yeah. And we're sitting here, and no one can tell me why she didn't make the cut. As I said, I'm sure Helen knows why she didn't make the cut. She doesn't. And she was probably told the reasons when she sat in front of the commissioned officer. What Nen does know through the initial application process is three red flags were raised against her name. The first, a former partner with historic convictions, the second, someone she doesn't even know, and the third, a nephew who's a P user. So are you to say that because she has someone in her extended family that might be up to playing on the other side of the law` Oh, look, I'm not saying that at all. It's the old story ` you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family. So the fact that she may be related to people who have criminal backgrounds, that doesn't exclude her` Why is it even red flags, then? I have no idea why those red flags are there. Would you like to see any changes in the recruitment process? Well, look, I want more Maori to come into this organisation. I'm looking for more Pacific staff to come into the organisation. I'm looking for more ethnic. And it's the old saying that the organisation should mirror the wider public. That's where we get our consent, and that's part of the legitimacy of policing, and I think we're on track to achieve that. While Nen still doesn't know why her first application was turned down, she now knows why her review was unsuccessful. In a letter she received in December, Police raised concerns about her activities and associations with social media and print media. A search of Nen Tulloch's Facebook page shows Nen responding and engaging with friends who had left comments. Not all were positive towards Police, but we couldn't find any inappropriate posting by Nen herself. What's worth noting is the social media concern raised by police was about the media attention at the end of 2016 ` an entire year after Nen's application was rejected. We need individuals who want to be part of a strong team. While the New Zealand Police continue the search for 1800 new cops, Nen Tulloch won't be one of them. I mean, every time I see the ads ` like, I watch Police Ten 7 ` you know, it's just, 'Call 0800 NEW COPS if you think you fit the bill.' And every time I see that, I'm like, 'Oh man. If only it was that easy.' Well, since we filmed our interview with Police earlier this week, they have now informed us they will not release Nen's file. They say the information from the review and Scope is withheld under the Privacy Act as it is evaluative material. Nen plans to apply for the Volunteer Fire Brigade. Inangeto nei, ka korero ahau ki te Kaiarahi o te Apitihana, ki a Simon Bridges. Kia mau ki tena, kia mau ki te kawau maro. Ngati Maniapoto politician Simon Bridges made history this week when he became the first Maori to lead a major political party. But no sooner had he got his waewae under the desk when commentators began questioning his right to cite his whakapapa. So what policies will the National Party leader employ to lift our people from the bottom of the heap? Kei toku taha inaianei ko te Kaiarahi o te Apitihana, ko Simon Bridges. Tena koe. Kia ora. Good to talk to you. You're from Oparure; I'm from Otorohanga. So does that make us cousins? Something like that. Tell me, you've had lots of commentary around your whakapapa this week. What do you make of it? Yeah. I mean, I suppose I've actually found it a bit hard to understand, if I'm honest. I haven't followed it copiously, because my understanding is if I spent the next 12 hours on social media, I probably could, on this. I think it's actually really really simple, if I think about my whakapapa. You know, three of my grandparents come from England and have a long history there, but my grandmother Naku Joseph comes, as you say, from Oparure, and probably hundreds of years there. So that's my ancestry; that's my whakapapa. I am Maori. I grew up that way; people have always considered me so; it's fundamentally that simple. And do you have people in your whanau that you kind of lean on and talk to about this, and what have they said? Look, I think the reality is that if you take my immediate whanau, it's a situation where, as I say, my grandmother Naku Joseph, grew up there in Oparure, been fluent in Te Reo; she moved to Hamilton, where she met my grandfather, Alf Bridges, and Maori really wasn't something that was part of the, if you like, culture of that family. And so my father, Heath, didn't grow up with that; we're all westies, grew up in West Auckland; but I think what is true, both myself and actually some of my siblings, at least ` six brothers and sisters ` something we've considered more as we've been older. It's a pretty typical story when you think about the history of Ngati Maniapoto in the King Country back then. That's right. So is it something that you'd like to learn more about, and the reo side of it as well? Is that something that you have got aspirations? Yeah, look, definitely. And I think if I can be very frank with you, the reality is this week I became the first leader of one of the two big political parties with that whakapapa, and that certainly brings this into focus, and it makes me feel very humbled and privileged. And so, yeah, I think` I don't want to be disingenuous ` learning a language and Te Reo is a significant endeavour. I've tried in the past to do this, but I would like to make sure I'm at the least becoming much better in terms of my facility with words, my pronunciation. And if I can over time be more fluent, it'd be a fantastic thing for me. As the leader of the National Party, you're gonna have to have relations also with iwi leaders and iwi. When you were the Minister of Energy, you got offside with a number of iwi over those consents. Do you still stand by that position now? Look, I do, in as much as if you say` And people have different views on this. 'Oil and gas, mining ` totally bad; don't do them.' I disagree with that. I think the reality is we live in a world where we understand more and more the environmental effects of these things, the climate change impact, and we do have to transition over time. But we still do, in the modern world, need mining; we need these things. Now, I'd say this to you. If you talk about the permits and the various issues ` appreciate for example in the East Coast, there's some grievance around those things ` what is also true, though, is I was the minister who, for the first time, brought in iwi facilitation and consultation, and we had some good gains in Ngai Tahu` But there are so many iwi who are not supportive of any kind of mining or oiling. And so I remember an interview where you said, 'Look, I'm interested in the $800 million in royalties that this country could make from that.' But when you consider that iwi are now in charge of $40 billion, wouldn't that be a better venture ` conservation and tourism? Well, I think it's an 'and'. I think, over time, though, do we wanna get to a lower-carbon economy? You can't really be drilling for gas` drilling for oil over here on the sea and having a tourist boat going around there, can you? Well, look, that's on the assumption, though, that these are everywhere and we're doing that. I don't think we are, actually. So I do think it is an 'and'. But I accept your basic point, which over time we do transition out of these things. So I'd also make the point, though, if you take oil and gas; if you take mining ` I've seen that in New Zealand ` and so often, I'd come across young Maori, generally men, who are in that, earning high wages, and I think that's good too. I wanna talk to you about the Maori Party. Have you had any contact with them since you became the leader? Well, literally seen Marama Fox this morning. Literally saw her! (BOTH LAUGH) And talked to her on the phone a little bit. I have had a few phone conversations with Te Ururoa. I keep in touch, because they were valued colleagues and we had a special relationship. I would work closely with both. And if you were to win the next election, you probably will need a coalition partner. Yeah. So would you look at going to the Maori Party or to the ACT party? What would be your preference? Let me sort of say this. Firstly, number one, two and a half years ago ` it's hard to say, in reality. You know, I think that's sort of that. Number two, what do I need to do to win in 2020? It's a whole lot of things in relation to the National Party and keeping that strong. Fundamentally, if you look at the last election, the reason Labour's the government, yup, Winston Peters chose them, but actually they came up in the polls. So that's number two. But number three, it's about basically looking at your opportunities and trying to find them. If you're asking me ` could we work and have a really productive relationship again with a Maori party of some description, we absolutely could. If you look at the start the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's had, particularly at Waitangi,... Yeah. ...she was received so well up there. Yeah. As the leader of the National Party, and a Maori who whakapapas to Ngati Maniapoto, will you return to Waitangi? I don't know. I want to think that through. I do want to talk to senior and experienced colleagues about the pros and cons. You know that` But what does your heart tell you? Well, look, potentially, I will. It's not a no ` put it that way. I think you're right. Jacinda went up there with great fanfare and did well, and good on her for doing that. I think what's also true is she raised expectations, and she will need to follow through on those and makes sure she performs. Ka pai, e te whanaunga. Tena rawa atu koe. Thank you. Hei tera wiki i runga i a Te Hui. For sufferers of chronic pain, homegrown marijuana remedies are a lifeline. It's a medicine that needs to be used. It needs to be used. And the sooner they have this thing legalised, the better for everyone. Everyone. Now one woman is risking it all, in the hope that lawmakers will provide protection for users and makers of cannabis remedies still deemed illicit. I'm so passionate. And I believe in what I'm doing. And there's a whole lot of other people who are like me ` believe in what we're doing. We'll post links to the show on our Facebook page and on Twitter at TheHuiNZ. And you'll find all our stories on the Newshub website. And if you want us to tell your story, drop us a line on Facebook. E taro ake nei ko Newshub Nation. Pai marire ki a tatou katoa. Nga kupu hauraro na Glenna Casalme www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018 He mea tautoko na Te Mangai Paho. The Hui was made with funding from the NZ On Air Platinum Fund.