Davis Kelvin: Sentencing (Offender Levy) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Davis Kelvin: Sentencing (Offender Levy) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:658;Page:7149] 
KELVIN DAVIS (Labour) 
: 
 I will make a couple of points. First of all it is great to see that our colleague in the ACT Party David Garrett is in touch with his socialist side. It is wonderful to hear him supporting Clayton Cosgrove. 
It was interesting to hear Mr Garrett say that the ACT Party will be looking at the Sentencing (Offender Levy) Amendment Bill and seeing whether it works. The question I have is what the measure of this bill working is. Will we see a reduction in crime? Will we see empty prisons? I wonder what the measure of success will be for this bill. Those are the questions that I have. Perhaps Mr Garrett would like to speak to those questions later. 
I turn to the title of the bill. We heard some great alternative titles for this bill from Lianne Dalziel who spoke just before me. One new title could be the “Sentencing (Increased Bureaucracy) Bill” because we have heard that it will take more effort more time and more money to collect the $50 levy than if it was not in place. The bill could be called the “Undervalued Victims Bill” because we see that the family of a murder victim will receive $50 from this levy. Similarly a jaywalker will have to pay $50 and a person convicted of speeding or drink-driving will have to pay $50. To me that undervalues the lives of those people who have had serious crimes committed against them. 
Do not get me wrong; I agree that offenders need to pay. I believe that. But I think there is a better way that offenders could be made to pay and I do not think that this $50 levy is equitable. As I say a jaywalker will have to pay $50 and a triple axe murderer will have to pay $50. The triple axe murderer would have to pay the $50 only once not $50 for each of his victims. 
This bill could also be called the “Sentencing (Missed Opportunity for Victim Support) Bill”. It is ironic that Victim Support has been mentioned a number of times in the House because my father and 11 others from Mid North Victim Support spent 6 or 7 hours on the road yesterday coming down from the north and another 6 or 7 hours on the road today so that they can attend the Victim Support conference being held tomorrow at the Brentwood Hotel. Unfortunately for them I believe they have had to pay the costs of the van gas accommodation and their meals—except for one which was the meal that my father made me buy for them tonight at Bellamy’s. Half of them came up here and sat in the gallery to have a look at the proceedings and the other half stayed back at the buffet and finished off the seafood. However of the dozen people— 
Hon Mita Ririnui 
: You’re the victim there! 
KELVIN DAVIS 
: —thanks!—who have come down in the van from the far north not one is under 65 years of age. They are all retired. They are living on superannuation. If this levy had been gathered up it could be used to bolster Victim Support so that people like my father are not dipping into their superannuation and into my inheritance to come down to the Victim Support conference being held in Wellington tomorrow. I believe that an opportunity has been missed for Victim Support. It is a fantastic organisation. I know that people up in the north as are people in other Victim Support organisations around the country are woken up in the middle of the night. They have to go out and counsel people. My father has brought people to our place to be comforted and consoled after being the victim of a crime or incident and there is a huge cost involved. Like I say just about all of the counsellors in Mid North Victim Support are over the age of 65. We could have used this fund to support bringing younger people into Victim Support training them and getting them accustomed to what Victim Support counsellors do.