Urgent Debates Declined — Corrections, Department—Management of Phillip John Smith Case

I have received a letter from the Rt Hon Winston Peters seeking to debate under Standing Order 389 the escape from New Zealand of convicted murderer Phillip John Smith. In order for an urgent debate to be held there must be a particular case of recent occurrence involving ministerial responsibility. Although the escape is no longer a matter of recent occurrence, the Government yesterday released the chief custodial officer’s review of the failure to return from temporary release of Phillip John Smith. However, the Government has also initiated an inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2013 into matters concerning the escape of Phillip John Smith, the draft terms of reference of which were released on Monday. This inquiry is to be informed by other reviews, including that of the chief custodial officer, and is expected to run over the next 6 months. In these circumstances I am not convinced that I would be justified in setting aside the business of the House today to debate the escape. The application is therefore declined.