6. Question No. 6—JusticeHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of JusticeQuestion No. 6—Justice6. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Justice: Does she stand by her statement in relation to the way the justice system operated during a recent rape case The last thing that we would like to see that anybody in government or any New Zealander would be that a victim is put off from coming forward to share their story and have somebody take accountability where they cause sexual violence and harms to victims"; if so what changes if any is she considering to how the justice system operates?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN (Minister of Justice): To the first part of the question absolutely. To the second part of the question can I just acknowledge the member for the question and for providing the opportunity to talk about one of our primary priorities which is introducing and supporting a victim-centric justice system. Through Budget 2022 the Government increased funding for the Victim Assistance Scheme and put aside significant resources for a whole-of-Government support programme for victims of crime. The Government has passed the Sexual Violence Legislation Bill which will take full effect from December this year and a team has recently been established within the Ministry of Justice to drive further policy change to improve the system for victims. I'm also considering currently the settings for how sexual violence is managed in the criminal justice system particularly those that directly impact children and young victims of crime. In recent months my officials have been consulting with experts in the field including victim advocates and specialist service providers to better understand what is and what is not working. I expect to receive further advice on this in the next few months.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Is she worried that a well-publicised sentence of nine months' home detention for a conviction of four rapes will discourage young women in New Zealand coming forward to share their story and if so what changes if any is she considering to how the justice system operates for those victims?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: I am absolutely concerned that any person in any environment would ever be put off by anything that takes them away from being able to share their story and want to ensure that responsibility sits with those people that have caused harm to any individual. I refer back to my primary answer though that there is a broad range of settings I'm looking at right now across the criminal justice system as to how the settings for sexual violence are dealt with and with a particular focus on children and young victims.Hon David Parker: Can the Minister confirm firstly that prosecutorial decisions including recommendations as to sentence don't come from politicians and were not influenced in the subject case but none the less the issue here was not one with sentencing guidelines; it was the decision taken by the local Crown prosecutor in that there is nothing needed to be changed in respect of sentencing guidelines?SPEAKER: Order! That question was far too long—it wasn't the ideal way to pitch a question like that. I'm not sure—I will take some advice from the Clerk actually. Yes the Minister can answer in so far as she's responsible but that question was far too long.Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: I can confirm that this side of the House understands the separation of powers. I can confirm that we the executive have the obligation to administer the legislative tools and that we understand the principles of comity and that the Solicitor-General has responsibility for anything that is undertaken by the courts in terms of prosecuting. The principle for that is because we cannot politicise the judiciary and that is one of the fundamental constitutional principles that this side of the House believes in.Hon Paul Goldsmith: In light of that answer why did she say publicly that she'd asked officials about the type of training the judiciary do to ensure "that they are appropriately equipped" and if so does that mean she thinks that they are not appropriately equipped?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: We have obligations to ensure that anybody exercising any public power function understands their duties their responsibilities and they will absolutely be doing that. I am not quite sure why the opposite side of the House doesn't quite understand comity but what I would say is that whilst the spokesperson for justice on that side of the House may not understand some core constitutional principles the shadow spokesperson for the Attorney-General certainly does and I suggest he has a chat to him about what those principles are.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Is she concerned the justice system appears to be giving more weight to her colleague Kelvin Davis' call to reduce the prison population by 30 percent than it is to ensuring someone take accountability for serious crimes?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: I have absolutely no obligations for the Department of Corrections. Hon Paul Goldsmith: Will she work with the Attorney-General to require a proper inquiry into the Crown's handling of the Meyer rape case and the operation of the Sentencing Act?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: The Attorney-General has put on record that the High Court judgment and other related court documents that have been made public set out clearly what happened in that case. However any further response falls to the Solicitor-General in terms of her oversight of public prosecutions and he has asked her to look at whether anything further is required."