Newly minted Police Minister Ginny Andersen has responded to prominent Auckland business owner Leo Molloy after he said she is not a "police person".
On Wednesday, former Auckland Mayoral candidate Molloy claimed Andersen is not the right person for her new role as she lacks experience, telling AM her husband would have been better suited to the job because he's a "proper policeman".
It's only Andersen's second full day as Police Minister, with her promotion prompting criticism of her experience.
Andersen responded to Molloy's comments in a short statement to Newshub.
"Mr Molloy's comments pretty much speak for themself. I'm focusing on getting on with the job."
On Tuesday four people tried to enter Molloy's restaurant and were playing 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 Andersen's 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'."
