Police Minister Mark Mitchell has declined to comment. Photo: RNZ / Nathan McKinnon
Police Minister Mark Mitchell has declined to comment on a transport watchdog's call to address safety problems with the 111 and a second emergency communications systems.
Police have referred RNZ's questions about whether 111 is being upgraded to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, although the watchdog asked them to collaborate with MBIE.
This follows release of an official report on a boat capsize that killed five people near Kaikōura in 2022, which said safety problems with both systems had not been addressed.
Transport accident investigator TAIC called for police and MBIE to improve the systems, saying they caused unnecessary delays and risks after the capsize.
TAIC warned the delays did not alter what happened but could be "critical" in future accidents.
Last year, Mitchell told RNZ he was working on this with the police. The Prime Minister said the same thing.
Asked twice, on Thursday and Friday, if he was aware the investigation agency said the safety problems had not been addressed, Mitchell's office told RNZ to talk to police.
"I hear you're also in touch with police, so will leave them to respond to your questions," his office said. "I also understand questions around 111 sit with MBIE."
The police repeated this about MBIE and 111.
"On the 111 service itself, we would refer you to MBIE," said police. "Police are continuing to actively look at options for upgrading the computed aided dispatch system."
They have been looking at that for at least three years.
TAIC had recommended that MBIE work with the Next Generation Critical Communications (NGCC) agency to review "the emergency 111 system with sector stakeholders, to remove unnecessary delay and improve New Zealand's emergency response efficiency".
NGCC is run by police.
The Finance Minister invited police to bid to replace CARD in the 2023 Budget, which police did. This project was later shelved by the Labour-led government and not restarted under the National-led one.
The business case supporting the bid related to anonymised, but real-life cases of harm done by the flawed and inadequate 111 and CARD systems, such as of a woman being stabbed, an active shooter and a beach drowning - all cases in which better technology could have saved lives or averted violence.
Police told RNZ on Friday: "The 111 Service is operated by Spark, and regulated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
"It's appropriate any questions around 111 are directed to them."
