Franks Stephen: Land Transport (Unauthorised Street and Drag Racing) Amendment Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
Franks Stephen: Land Transport (Unauthorised Street and Drag Racing) Amendment Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
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STEPHEN FRANKS (ACT NZ) 
: 
 I debate clause 3 the purpose clause as a lawyer and as one who came to the House from the background of a practice where I had not dealt with criminal behaviour for a long time. I look at the clause therefore from that background to see whether the law can be clearly understood and whether the purpose is translated into the subsequent provisions. I am aware of course that in this part by part debate I cannot address the subsequent provisions but when I see vague words like “combat the problem of unauthorised street racing drag racing wheel spinning and other stunts involving motor vehicles on roads;” I see essentially political rhetoric not law. I see essentially a series of slogans that are the sort of oratory or standard of English that people who work in these— 
Brian Connell 
: Like zero tolerance. 
STEPHEN FRANKS 
: Zero tolerance has not been written into law. I tell Mr Connell that when that is translated into law it will be translated into provisions that are readily capable of application. What is really meant by this clause is the giving of additional powers to the police which may be applied in relation to illegal acts but which also may be applied against people the police do not like or who give them lip. They may just be applied— 
Ron Mark 
: Do you support the police or not? 
STEPHEN FRANKS 
: Mr Mark asks whether we support the police. Of course we support policing. Of course we support using the powers of enforcement of proper law but we do not support powers that entice the police into simply classifying a whole class of people as the enemy and then harassing them. 
Brian Connell 
: You don’t trust them. 
STEPHEN FRANKS 
: I do not trust anyone who is given excessive power not to abuse it. That is why we live in a liberal democracy and we do not simply say: “Let us give wise rulers all the powers they ask for.” We demand that the people who are given the coercive power of the State—the people who can seize property the people who can fine the people who can send a person to prison—work within a framework of rules that say they will confine those powers to those who are genuinely criminal offenders. What we have here is the opportunity to say that wheel spinning—which may be antisocial but so is blowing smoke in someone’s face driving a diesel vehicle that is burning too much oil or driving too slowly or too fast on the road; we have specific offences for those things—now becomes a reason for car confiscation. Wheel spinning may have absolutely nothing to do with danger at the time it may have nothing to do with hazard even to the people in the car and it may be perfectly safe yet wheel spinning is now seen as a problem. 
Hon Member 
: It is. 
STEPHEN FRANKS 
: Wheel spinning is a problem to the people who spin their wheels. It is a problem of burning up rubber. There are all sorts of automatic sanctions. This law could have given enhanced powers of enforcement to the courts. It could for example have given powers that allow bailiffs and others to enforce fines. It could have allowed community work to mean something. It could have turned the stunts that involve young people and that are criminal into offences that could be taken through the courts. Only 2000 of the 40000-odd apprehensions of young people a year even get to the courts. No wonder there is an insolent attitude from so-called boy racers. No wonder the “stuff you” focus that has so enraged—and rightly enraged—New Zealanders is a feature of this conduct. It is just a symptom of an attitude that has been not just allowed but encouraged by this Government’s approach to youth justice. 
This Parliament should do more than just run slogans. The purpose provision in this bill is just a set of slogans that allow Mr Cosgrove and the members of the Committee who want to make capital out of looking tough to avoid dealing with the real issues in youth justice—to avoid going back and asking why there are 6000 family group conferences many of them multiple that have nothing whatsoever to do with families.