Delivering on safer community promises
THE National-led Government is determined to make good on its pre-election promise to build brighter and safer communities in New Zealand.
In line with our 100-day action plan, we have drafted and introduced a number of pieces of legislation designed to take the balance of rights away from the offenders and tip the scale back towards the victims.
Before Christmas, we introduced the Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Bill, which passed its first reading and was sent to select committee. This Bill is aimed at protecting the victims of domestic violence and, among other things, will give police the power to issue on-the-spot protection orders - ensuring victims are immediately kept safe.
We also introduced the Sentencing (Offences against Children) Amendment Bill and the Bail Amendment Bill in December last year. The first Bill makes offending against children an aggravating factor in sentencing, while the second reverses the lenient bail laws implemented under the previous Labour government - making it much tougher for offenders of violent crimes to be released back into our communities.
Last week we introduced the Sentencing (Offender Levy) Bill, which is aimed at addressing the financial and emotional costs that fall on victims by imposing a $50 levy on all convicted offenders.
Continuing with our pre-election promise to get tough on law and order, this week the National-led Government introduced two further pieces of legislation - the Sentencing and Parole Bill and the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Amendment Bill.
The former is designed to tighten up New Zealand's parole system and provide harsher sentences for the perpetrators of violent crime while the latter will work to address the growing youth crime problem in our country by providing the Youth Court with the power to hand down longer and harsher sentences to youth offenders.
For many within New Zealand's various ethnic communities, the concept of how a piece of legislation becomes law is a foreign concept.
That is the Office of Ethnic Affairs will hold a series of law and order workshops at various destinations throughout the country this year to ensure that every New Zealand understands the vital role they play in the decision making process of this country.
The Office of Ethnic Affairs, which I am responsible for in my role as Minister for Ethnic Affairs, will run a number of these workshops to help each and every one of you know how to have your voice heard in Parliament.
As stated during the election, your National-led Government is well aware of the impact that crime has on our country, particular within New Zealand's vast and vibrant ethnic communities.
That is why we have promised to have an additional 600 police officers in the police force to assist in our vision of ensuring that all New Zealanders feel safe in their homes and communities.
Half of the new police officers will be assigned to the Manukau area, where youth and violent crime has largely gone unaddressed over the past nine years under the previous Labour government.
The additional police alongside the tough new legislation currently being introduced into Parliament brings with them a clear signal from this National-led Government that it is time to get serious about crime. We believe every member of every community in New Zealand has the right to feel safe in their own home.
