Transport Minister Demands Briefing as Police Breath Test Scandal Drags On

Transport Minister Chris Bishop expresses frustration as an independent report into 30,000 falsified police breath tests remains unreleased to his office.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 18, 2026, 3:54 AM EDT

Source: RNZ Pacific

The Scale of the Deception

The controversy began last year when an internal algorithm flagged significant irregularities in how breath tests were being logged. The data showed:

Impossible Speed: 30,000 instances where a second breath test was recorded within 90 seconds of the first, while the distance between the two suggested the officer was traveling at over 20 km/h.

Volume of Fraud: One specific example involved a single officer recording 11 tests in just five minutes while covering a three-kilometer distance.

Funding Halt: In response to the breach of trust and failure to meet actual targets, NZTA suspended $6 million in funding to the police force in December 2025.

The Delayed Report