National leader Christopher Luxon has shared his thoughts on new Police Minister Chris Hipkins.
Hipkins became police minister after a "minor" Cabinet reshuffle on Monday. The reshuffle saw Poto Williams removed from the police portfolio amid questions to the Government over an increase in gang-related drive-by shootings.
Asked on Breakfast on Wednesday if he thought Hipkins was the right person for the job, Luxon said "Look, I don't know. That's a decision for the prime minister."
However, Luxon went on to comment about Hipkins' "very large workload" (previously including the Covid-19 Response portfolio) and criticised his work as Education Minister.
READ MORE: New Police Minister Chris Hipkins comes out swinging at critics
"I think he's probably struggled in education where we've spent more money, hired more people, got worse attendance and academic outcomes," Luxon remarked.
Continuing to promote - and defend - National's new anti-gang policy, Luxon said getting tough on crime isn't just about changing the minister.
"We actually need to be able to deliver new powers to police so that we can actually have a coordinated effort on the crime."
If brought to power next year, National has promised to give police four new powers that would "make life harder for criminal gangs".
The new powers would allow police to disperse public gang gatherings, prevent certain gang members from associating with each other, and also prevent certain gang members from accessing a gun.
READ MORE: National’s proposed anti-gang laws haven’t worked elsewhere – Ardern
A National government would ban gang insignia from publicly-accessible social media platforms, alongside all public spaces.
"We're very comfortable and very happy to work with Chris in terms of seeing what we can do together to get these powers in place," Luxon told Breakfast.
However, Luxon said on Tuesday National police spokesperson Mark Mitchell would be the better police minister.
"[Mitchell] is a bravery-awarded police officer who cares deeply about the front line. He's the person I'd have in that job."
On Tuesday, Hipkins called National's policy a "failure" because they were trying to repeat something that hadn't worked before.
"I'm far more interested in solutions that work than rhetoric."
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