Estimates Debate — Vote Justice

I want to take just a short call on this. There is so much good news. In fact, I thought what we would do is talk a little bit about the courtesy and the very good questions that I have received from the Justice and Electoral Committee. I thought it was an outstanding committee, well chaired by Tim Macindoe, MP for Hamilton West, and, as I say, the questions were all intelligent and focused on what they needed to be, and, mostly, that is about delivering better public services.

I will happen to indulge members by showing them the fantastic booklet that has been put out for everybody to be able to see. This is the Government justice sector agencies working together with a plan. We all have our areas, obviously: the Ministry of Justice, the New Zealand Police, the Department of Corrections, Crown Law, and the Serious Fraud Office. All these various agencies of Government in the justice sector have committed to not just working together, but seriously working together with the leadership board, with our justice sector Ministers meeting very regularly, and with something that is a serious innovation for this Government—and any Government, frankly—for the first time ever, which is a Justice Sector Fund. What that means is not that the New Zealand Police loses its budget or that the Ministry of Justice loses its budget; it means that we have our budgets, but we also are looking across our sector to say how we can better use the money that we have got within our sector.

We have been given the confidence of Cabinet to be able to say this is how we think we could better spend our money, and this is how we could get a better result. Our results are very clearly and unashamedly focused on bringing down crime, having less youth crime—having fewer young people go through the Youth Court—having fewer people coming before the courts in the first place, and having less crime, and so far it has been working really well. Even though we did not have a formal system of this in the last term of Government, we were certainly working towards it, and this is formalised now.

We have a great story to tell in New Zealand about justice, particularly in the last 3 years, and that is that crime is now down to 1982 levels. Minister Tolley, as the Minister of Corrections, was able to announce a wee while ago the closure of a couple of prisons, particularly old, dilapidated prisons like the one at New Plymouth and also Mt Crawford prison, which belong to not just another century but another two centuries ago. It is absolutely impossible to expect serious rehabilitation to be undertaken in prisons such as the Taranaki one—the New Plymouth one—which was built as a hospital during the Land Wars of Taranaki.

I have visited most of these prisons and I can tell the Committee it really is important to focus on rehabilitation, and we have to have the right environment for that to occur. We also need some economies of scale so that the right rehabilitation programmes can be undertaken, and that the culture of the organisation in the prison can be very much focused towards that. So we have a great story happening in the Department of Corrections and happening in the New Zealand Police—particularly around the Policing Excellence programme, which I announced about 2 years ago, and that is now tracking along well. Neighbourhood policing teams have been put in place, and the police are focused on Prevention First, which I think is incredibly sensible and is showing such reductions in the crime rate, but also increases in public safety, the public’s feeling of safety, and the public’s confidence in the police. I can advise the Committee that the New Zealand Police is now the highest ranked and rated agency in the country, even ahead of family general practitioners. That has never happened before.

💬 Hon Tony Ryall: And nurses.

They are the highest—according to what I have read, Mr Ryall—ranked and rated organisation. That tells me that the police have been doing a fantastic job. They have great leadership, they have the right people there, and they are backed 100 percent by this Government to do their job.

That does not mean to say that we accept any slacking behaviour, any behaviour that is not in accordance with their code of conduct, but what we do know is that they joined the police for the right reasons, and we want them to be there for the right reasons. I would like to also thank members for the amount of support they have given the police over the last few years.

Vote agreed to.

Vote Health