Barnett Tim: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Barnett Tim: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:607;Page:4896] 
5.  
TIM BARNETT (NZ Labour—Christchurch Central) 
 to the  
Minister of Justice 
: What changes have been made to better protect the community from recidivist behaviour by convicted sex offenders? 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 Changes have been made to the Sentencing Act to the Parole Act and to operational practice. Collectively those have significantly increased the effectiveness and powers of agencies dealing with recidivist sex offenders. Preventive detention—effectively a life-long sentence—has been extended in scope to encompass a much wider group of offenders. Parole changes mean that public safety is the paramount consideration and that high-risk offenders serve the full term. Finally operational changes have resulted in a more thorough and professional assessment of offenders and better information-sharing between agencies. 
Tim Barnett 
: What other steps does he intend to take to ensure that Government agencies can more actively manage convicted sex offenders when released into the community? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: A range of further measures is planned. A best-practice model of information sharing and inter-agency collaboration will be established in Dunedin next month and progressively rolled out across the country. Legislative change will ensure that comprehensive information on convicted sex offenders is provided by the Department of Corrections to the police. Finally officials will report back to Ministers by 31 August on further proposals for active management of sex offenders in the community including a register extended supervision and control of convicted offenders beyond the normal period of parole. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Does the Minister think that with this announcement he can wash his hands of any responsibility for the abuse of four young boys by Barry Allan Ryder in Christchurch while on parole last year given that when Mr Goff was in Opposition he campaigned relentlessly for immediate action and when he became Minister of Justice did absolutely nothing? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: No it was the member as Minister of Justice who did absolutely nothing. I as Minister of Justice amended the Sentencing Act to ensure that the sentence of preventive detention—that is a life-long sentence—is now imposed on Mr Ryder and Mr Ryder is likely to be imprisoned for the rest of his natural life as a result of that sentence. The member should apologise to the House for his utter incompetence and inability to do anything when he was Minister of Justice. 
Deborah Coddington 
: Can he confirm that my bill the Sex Offenders Registry Bill will be looked at by the Government as a serious option; if so why? 
Hon Phil Goff 
: I can confirm that we will be looking seriously at a register as proposed by the member in her member’s bill. Although the police currently have registers—they have a criminal history database and a persons-of-interest database—there may be some advantage in having a comprehensive register that can be accessed by the police. However that will be an advantage only if there is a system of active management of sex offenders in the community in conjunction with that register. The register by itself is a means to an end not the end itself.