Financial Review Debate — Ministry of Justice

I just want to take a call if I may and commend the tremendous job that is being done by officials within the justice department. In particular, I acknowledge the great start that our new Minister of Justice, the Hon Judith Collins, has made since she took over this role. It is significant that our Minister has taken over a very demanding role. Of course, in the previous Parliament—and I also want to pay tribute to her predecessor, the Hon Simon Power—this was an aspect of the Government’s legislative programme that was particularly demanding and particularly effective, and, perhaps most important, particularly welcomed by the public of New Zealand.

There is no question that for many, many years there has been a concern that we have had a justice system that has to a large extent marginalised victims and put far too much emphasis on to the rights of offenders. In a civilised society, of course offenders have rights. But one of the most distressing things for victims in quite serious trials in New Zealand has been that they arrive at court only to realise that they are completely marginalised, and in many cases they are re-traumatised by the experiences that they are put through. So I want to canvass just a couple of the issues, in the time I have available today, to point out to the Committee just what significant progress is being made.

Before the House at the moment, of course, is the Victims of Crime Reform Bill. This is a very important piece of legislation that will ensure that victims of some of the most serious crimes in New Zealand are heard—have a chance to be listened to—particularly with the improvements to the victim impact statements that they are now able to submit, or will be able to submit, and also that they are assisted.

One of the great achievements in the previous Parliament was the introduction of the offender levy. I point that out because our opponents on the other side of the House scoffed at it when we suggested it, mocked it as it went through the House, and told us it would not work. Well, look at the results. In its first year the offender levy collected double what was anticipated, and although it may not be a huge sum of money, we are talking about in the region of $2 million that is now available for victims of crime to receive counselling, receive assistance with accommodation costs when they have to move to a major centre in order to take part in a trial, and to help with a number of other matters that are very expensive for them and just add to the huge hurt and suffering that they have all endured. So I want to congratulate everybody who was involved in that initiative and say what a fantastic way forward it is. I look forward to hearing that it continues to become more and more successful over the years ahead.

We are, as a Government, reforming our justice system to put a stronger emphasis on victims, because victims of crime find themselves caught up in the midst of our criminal justice system not only through no fault of their own but in circumstances that most of us absolutely shudder at the thought of. To find that a member of your family has been affected by one of the most gruesome crimes and then suddenly you are at the heart of a criminal trial is just the most appalling experience, which all of us would naturally wish to avoid. Not only do we want to protect the interests of those victims and make the system a little bit more friendly, supportive, and sensitive to their needs but also we are very much committed to building a safer New Zealand. So we have embarked on a comprehensive programme of reform to protect our communities, prevent crime, and put victims first.

I think it was a very appropriate step that the current Minister moved up from her previous role as Minister of Police and Minister of Corrections, because while she was exercising those responsibilities, which she also did with tremendous effect, she was able to advance the cause of looking at laws that in some cases needed considerable strengthening to give the police more powers. Now as Minister of Justice she is able to complete the picture and ensure—[Interruption] Thank you, Mr Faafoi. I am so pleased that Mr Faafoi is enjoying this speech, and I trust that in a moment he will rise to his feet and continue to sing the praises of the Minister, because well do those praises deserve to be sung, and I know that Mr Faafoi is an ideal candidate to do that. It is an important matter. Although it is good to have some humour in the discussion, it is also really important that we focus on law and order and justice initiatives. They are absolutely right at the forefront of this Government’s agenda, because they matter so much to all New Zealanders.

Can I take a moment to thank the member who has just resumed his seat, Tim Macindoe, for the splendid chairing role that he is undertaking as the chair of the Justice and Electoral Committee. I know that his whole team on the committee is working very hard and I acknowledge all members of the committee, because I know that they are doing their very best to undertake their duties with professionalism, which is what we would all like to see from all members of the House.

I need to record here that recorded crime for the 2010-11 fiscal year was a 7 percent fall on the year before, 2009-10. The recorded crime rate in 2010 was 9,761 per 100,000 population, the lowest it has been since 1982, and 25 percent lower than its peak in 1992. What we are seeing is a drop in crime that has not been seen at that level since the 1930s. We have prosecution levels in 2010 that were 13 percent lower than in 2009, and that is after they had grown and peaked in 2009, having grown by 25 percent over the previous 15 years. What we are seeing is that the Government’s policies, the Acts that this Government has brought through, are actually having a huge effect, and so too is an attitude that, actually, crime should not pay, that we do stand up for the victims of crime, that we do stand up for law and order, that we do support the police, the Department of Corrections, that we do support our court staff, the ministry, the judges, that we get on and we support them and we do not give in to criminals.

I actually think one of the best things that I can think of in my time in Parliament is what has happened to the crime rate. Of course, the crime rate is not just about numbers; it is actually mostly about people, and by people I mean victims of crime. When we have less crime, we have fewer victims, and that is something we should all be very pleased about. What that does mean, too, is that we have opportunities in the justice system to look at more innovative ways in which we deal not only with crime but in other areas of the court system, such as the family courts and other courts, to look at how we can do things better and more efficiently, and how we can use new technologies. Certainly the audiovisual links that we have introduced in the last few years between corrections and the courts has meant that that has been a huge savings to corrections, but it has also taken away a real source of danger for the public.

We are looking at how we can use technology better, how we can look at having an accessible justice system so that members of the public can, for instance, file their documents online or their lawyers can file documents online at any hour of the day or night, and how they can access their own files in a way that is user-friendly. Judges and staff will not have to haul around great big thick paper files that they have at the moment. Things get lost and put in wrong files. We are looking at bringing in an electronic operating model that works well not only for the judiciary but actually for the lawyers and for those people who use the courts.

None of this should be too much news for people, because it is the sort of business operation that businesses undertake and have done for years now. It is important, I think, for instance, that we look at how we use the very valuable dollars that we use in the justice system, and that is actually looking at, for instance, whether we should have lawyers waiting around and waiting around and waiting around for cases to come up for trial when, for instance, a text message to the lawyer from the court staff would tell them when it is on, so that they are not wasting their time and therefore wasting money either on legal aid or through their client.

So there are ways that we can look at doing that. But that actually requires a really steep learning curve for a lot of people involved in the justice system, and that is about working together. I have found that when I have talked to the judiciary and with lawyers that they are particularly keen to do that. They want to work with the police and corrections and the court system so that they can in fact get better outcomes for everyone involved. Better outcomes mean a quicker, fairer trial. It means people being able to access the justice system without huge cost. But it also means that those matters that come into the court system are dealt with fairly and according to the law. I think it is also worth noting that we are very fortunate in New Zealand that we have a judiciary that is truly independent and free of corruption, that we have a police force that is in a similar situation, and we are very lucky in this country. I do sometimes despair at the odd media reports screaming headlines about these things. We do not give enough credit to those people who play their part in the justice system. We are very fortunate indeed.

Report noted.

Ministry of Health