Prominent Auckland business owner and former Mayoral candidate Leo Molloy is hitting out at new Police Minister Ginny Andersen, saying she's not a "police person".
Molloy made the claims on AM on Wednesday after his HeadQuarters Viaduct restaurant was targeted by a group of four people.
Molloy claimed Andersen is not the right person for her new role as she lacks experience and her husband would be better suited to the job as he's a "proper policeman".
Andersen only started her new role as Police Minister on Tuesday but she's already facing criticism.
On Tuesday four people tried to gain access to Molloy's restaurant and were mucking around on the roof.
Andersen was asked about the ruckus on AM and said she doesn't know exactly what happened but she "trusts" police to do a good job.
But that answer didn't go down well with Molloy, who told AM the Police Minister lacks experience and he'd prefer to deal with her husband.
"I'd sooner Ginny Andersen's husband dealt with it, he's a dog handler, they're proper policemen. The police are divided over this, a number of them have reached out to me and said, 'You are 100 percent correct'," Molloy told AM co-host Melissa Chan-Green.
Chan-Green hit back saying Andersen has been involved with the police for a decade, But Molloy didn't budge, saying she's not a "police person".
"She's non-sworn eight years on policy. She's not a police person. Greg O'Connor (MP for Ōhāriu) is a police person. If you want to deal with police-related matters like this that involve violence and damage to properties, this is no different," he said.
When pressed by Chan-Green that his comments make him sound like he's saying a man could do a better job than a woman, Molloy said it comes back to Andersen not having enough experience.
"I don't care, if Ginny Andersen had done 41 years on the front line or the police association, I'd say, 'Yes she's the right person to deal with it'."
Molloy then questioned the culture of the police telling AM it needs to change.
"I think the police culture has to change and it can only change from the top. The top starts with the Minister, that starts with the commissioner. It has to change," he said.
"Their view at the moment of retail crime and I was part of the retail crime scenario, is that it doesn't really matter, they were too busy."
Molloy had previously told Newshub the cost of direct damage caused by the group will be around $50,00, but after the loss in turnover, it will be "hundreds of thousands of dollars".
Molloy said cleaners at his restaurant called the police but their response was "weak as piss" as they didn't arrest the offenders despite talking to the alleged suspects.
Police told Newshub on Tuesday they received reports a group of four people "playing around" caused damage at the restaurant.
"Police have attended, located a group nearby who matched the description and spoken with the offenders," a police spokesperson said.
Watch the full interview with Leo Molloy in the video above.
