Ngaro AlfredALFRED NGARO (National): I rise to take a call on this bill and I want to acknowledge my good friend and colleague Mark Mitchell whose name this bill is in. It is the Social Security (Stopping Benefit Payments for Offenders who Repeatedly Fail to Comply with Community Sentences) Amendment Bill under the name of Mark Mitchell the National MP for Rodney. There have been some very unkind comments about the sincerity and the intent of Mr Mark Mitchell in regard to this bill. We know that his past history is that he has been involved in the police as a dog handler and he did actually tweet about an incident then—there was a moment there—but he was very involved in the police. So he knows the importance of the role that both the police and the Department of Corrections play in our communities. I do think the comments were very unkind.The previous speaker Carmel Sepuloni spoke about the lack of support from Labour. I know that Kelvin Davis the Opposition spokesman on corrections actually looked at us and in his eyes he was saying: I actually support this bill. I support this bill." In fact that member I must say goes to very unusual lengths to investigate the role of the Department of Corrections. It was some 3 months ago that we did the Shave for a Cure for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand. Both Mark Mitchell and I believe it was a way for him to have an inside job a way of getting into the corrections system into Serco so he can get some added information. I am not sure whether it worked. But back to the scope of the bill. We do know that there are 28562 offenders who are on community service.Hon Members: How many?ALFRED NGARO: There are 28562. We are talking about those with a non-custodial sentence. We are talking about those whom the court felt it was appropriate not to incarcerate. Instead it gave them a non-custodial sentence that gives them an opportunity. It mitigates the offending allows them to have a process of rehabilitation and allows them to reintegrate into the community and have a normal way of life. At the same time it implies that there are some conditions that are really important. Those are often bail conditions. Most of us would agree with that. In fact all of us would agree that that is really important.I cannot quite understand why there is not the support because this is a tool that in the hands of the Department of Corrections along with the Ministry of Social Development ensures that there is some compliance. There are those out there who say that this is not right. In fact the member who spoke previously said that this is—again—about beneficiary bashing and being unkind. But in actual fact the member needs to realise that we are talking about those who have offended who actually have broken the law but have been given an opportunity with a community sentence to be able to comply reintegrate back into the communities and become normal citizens in our communities. We are talking about a situation where they do not comply—not just the first time and not the second time but the third time. We are talking about three times when there has been non-compliance. We are talking about a tool that the Department of Corrections has tried to engage. It has tried to ensure that they have complied. When does it get to a point where even Kelvin Davis will know that putting this bill through is simply saying: "You have got to be compliant."? In other words: "If you do the crime you have to do the time. If you're not doing the time then you have to comply. " That is the simple basis of this bill. OK? All this bill does is amend the Social Security Act 1964 to ensure that they comply. What is wrong with this bill? Nothing—absolutely nothing. I would like the next speaker from the Labour side to tell us the essence of what is wrong with this bill. They cannot. Instead they go outside the scope of the bill and fluff around on a whole lot of other ideas but when it comes to the intent of the bill there is nothing wrong. [Interruption] Kris Faafoi knows that Mark Mitchell is right about this bill. This is a good bill. I finish off with a little bit of the facts and figures. Here are some numbers for you. In 2014 the bill that Mark Mitchell talked about in regard to the welfare reforms for the social sanctions ensured that there were 2804 benefits suspended When you think about a figure of 2000-odd you see that this is not hard or mean-spirited. This is ensuring that we make people comply. As the chairperson of the Social Services Committee I look forward to receiving Mark Mitchell's bill. I look forward to ensuring that we do due diligence hear the submissions throughout this process and ensure that it returns back to the House in a way that will make a difference. It may be a small and simple bill but what we are doing along with with Mark Mitchell and his support will truly make a difference. Thank you."