7. Question No. 7—JusticeHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of JusticeQuestion No. 7—Justice7. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Justice: Is she confident the justice system is delivering justice for the victims of crime?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN (Minister of Justice): It's fair to say we are always looking to ensure that we get the overall settings right for the justice system including for victims. In terms of support for victims the Government has doubled funding for the Victim Assistance Scheme since being in office; and in Budget 2022 we put aside significant resources for a whole-of-Government support programme for victims of crime. The Government has put record levels of police on the beat passed the Sexual Violence Legislation Act invested over $1 billion into family violence and sexual violence systems since 2018 is making legislative changes to target organised crime and a team has recently been established within the Ministry of Justice to drive further policy change to improve the system for victims. As the member will be aware though the responsibility for convictions and sentencing sits with the courts.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does she accept there is a perception out there described most recently by Dr Greg Newbold emeritus professor of criminology at the University of Canterbury This whole kindness thing means people can do what the hell they want especially young offenders." and if so does she acknowledge that the sense that there are no consequences is a big part of the problem and is creating more victims?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: Whilst I'm not so familiar with the quote to the sentiment: New Zealanders want to ensure that when we're taking a victim-centric approach that we're not ultimately gearing more young people up to be lifelong seasoned criminals to go on and create more harm and therefore further victims.Hon Paul Goldsmith: What responsibility if any does she take for the perception there are no consequences for serious youth crime having developed after five years of her Government's justice policy?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: Well I could point to statistics which will show that over past 10 years in New Zealand in the United States in Australia and in the United Kingdom—that in every single one of those jurisdictions over the last 10 years we have seen youth crime rates go down and down and down. Or I could point to statistics just here in New Zealand which will show that when we do get spikes of crime—for example in the areas of ram raids—with efficient and effective policing we see prosecutions and we see those people that are responsible for those crimes being apprehended and dealt to by the justice system.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does she accept that a culture of excuses has developed under her Government where serious young offenders are given multiple chances while the victims of the crime often have no choice but to give up running their shops or to live in fear like the teenagers beaten up at Queensgate Mall bus shelter on Saturday have to do?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: No I don't accept that statement at all.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does she agree then with the Prime Minister's statement a few weeks ago that we need a "wider range of tools" to respond to serious youth crime and if so how many more months will victims have to wait to see these new tools actually delivered?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: Absolutely; I always agree with the Prime Minister and she's absolutely right: we do need broader tools to deal with youth crime. We've started that; we've had the announcement by Minister Hipkins and Minister Sepuloni where we have invested targeted resource into prevention and rehabilitation. Why do we do that? We do that because we ultimately want to curb criminal activities in a lifelong trajectory. On this side of the House we think that's the right investment to make."