28 year old Constable Matthew Hunt was shot and died while carrying out a routine traffic stop in West Auckland in June. He had been a police officer for only two and half years.

On 30 July, on what would have been Constable Hunt’s 29th birthday, Diane Hunt, Constable Hunt’s mum launched a petition in honour of her son and the 32 other New Zealand Police officers who have been killed in the line of duty.

The petition calls for the Sentencing Act 2002 and the Parole Act 2002 to be amended so individuals convicted of murdering a police officer receive a mandatory life sentence and have their parole eligibility automatically declined. Between its launch and close, 39,286 New Zealanders signed the petition.

The Hunt family commissioned a taonga in honour of the 33 police officers who have been killed in the line of duty. This will be handed over to Members of Parliament as part of the petition presentation. The petition will be formally received by Hon Mark Mitchell MP, alongside Minister of Police, Hon Poto Williams