Mark Ron: Voting — Correction; General Debates 
Mark Ron: Voting — Correction; General Debates 
[Volume:608;Page:5709] 
RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 I started out in this debate asking the question why did John Tamihere not get the job that Rick Barker got? There is a man who speaks the truth and speaks openly—but now I know why he did not get the job. He has just answered my question! 
Darren Hughes 
: Is he in Cabinet? 
RON MARK 
: Well one is in Cabinet and one is not. I want to bring to the attention of this House that right now there is a looming problem facing this country that the Government continues to ignore about which it closes its eyes buries its head in the sand and pretends that it does not exist. It is about law and order. Right now we have shown the House that there have been glaring gaps. The first gap that was brought to my attention by a businessman in Christchurch was that of deferred sentencing. This businessman came to me and asked: “How is it that a woman who embezzled my company of $100000 and got sentenced to 18 months’ jail is out on the streets wandering around and worst of all the thing that got her into trouble in the first place—playing the pokies—she is back doing in the Hoon Hay Working Men’s Club?”. Well a bit of investigation found that not only was that one person out on a deferred sentence having been sentenced to jail we now know that there are 461 people out on the streets having been sentenced by a judge to jail for the seriousness of their crimes. 
Brent Catchpole 
: How many? 
RON MARK 
: Four hundred and sixty-one! So I asked the hapless Rick Barker how this could be so? We got the answers from that man. He said that nobody who had committed a serious crime would be out on a deferred sentence or that nobody who had committed a serious crime would worst of all be on home detention and the reason people were on a deferred sentence was that they had applied for home detention. Well excuse me but at the last election in 1999 I thought 92 percent of the population said that when someone was sentenced to jail he or she would go to jail. That is not what has happened. 
But even worse today I got information from the Minister’s own office. Let us look at the crimes that these people have committed who have been given deferred sentences that allow them to be put back into the community. Are they minor offences? Well are they heck! There is one person in Wellington who committed manslaughter. Do we get any more serious than that? Probably murder and serial killing—but manslaughter! 
There are four people out on the streets who have been convicted of kidnapping and abducting people and this Government allows them to be given deferred sentences—go home stay at home with their wife and family and be at large in the community! Indecent assault—seven people! There have been 31 cases of grievous assault by people out on the street within moments of having been sentenced to jail and there are nine people convicted of serious assault. I am appalled at the Attorney-General a female who waxes lyrical about men who bash and injure women. There are five people who were convicted of threatening to kill or do grievous bodily harm. If members think that is bad I will turn the page and have another look. Sixty-five people who deal in cannabis and 33 who deal with other drugs have been released into the community having been sentenced to jail. 
I find that absolutely laughable particularly in the light of the fact that last night we sat in the House and debated a Government motion that saw fit to make methamphetamine a class A drug. So we have a confused Government. Ask me if it is confused—by heck is it confused! Last night the Government said that drugs were top of the agenda. It was top of the agenda as a big offence and we need to protect our kids and community. Today we find that the Government has released 99 drug dealers into the community. 
Dail Jones 
: How many? 
RON MARK 
: Ninety-nine drug dealers were sentenced by a good judge to jail and let out into the community under this Government. Is that hard on law and order? No it is not. Has New Zealand First found out about it? Yes we have. Can they fix it? No they cannot. Can we fix it? 
Dail Jones 
: Yes we can. 
RON MARK 
: By oath we can. We will fix it and we will keep applying pressure to that hapless Government. We will keep embarrassing it in the public arena until it fixes these faults and puts them right. Because the message for this Government is that ordinary New Zealanders do not like the fact that they have put 99 known convicted drug dealers back on the streets. Ordinary New Zealanders do not like the fact that they have people who have committed manslaughter and grievous bodily harm back on the streets and they are sending this Government a loud and clear message.