Mapp Wayne: Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Bill — In Committee Procedure Third Reading 
Mapp Wayne: Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Bill — In Committee Procedure Third Reading 
[Volume:626;Page:20961] 
Dr WAYNE MAPP (National—North Shore) 
: 
 We have heard from this Minister. This bold Minister is apparently announcing an inquiry into victims’ rights. That says it all; that sets out the Government’s priorities. When confronted with the real issue—the balance if you will—between this bill the “Prisoners’ Compensation Bill” and the rights of victims what does the Minister do? He takes urgency on legislation for prisoners’ compensation and apparently announces an inquiry for victims. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: Another delay. 
Dr WAYNE MAPP 
: Just a delay. The Government had real choice. It could literally have turned that round. It could have had urgent legislation to provide compensation for victims and have had an inquiry about discipline within prisons. Instead it is doing it the other way round and that is a disgrace. 
I say to the country that this bill is a code of compensation for prisoners and I say that because detailed rules whereby prisoners will receive compensation are set out in this bill for the guidance of the courts. Those are the provisions of this bill. No doubt the Minister in the chair Mita Ririnui will take a call and try to deny it. But can he deny that under clause 14 detailed rules are set out whereby the courts will be required to pay compensation to prisoners? That is the effect of this legislation. 
Under clause 14(1)(a) and (b) the courts will have to consider whether compensation is an effective redress and then they will have to consider the quantum of an award of compensation. So they have to decide: firstly whether compensation is the right remedy and secondly how much the prisoner should get. That is why National says this is a statutory code being passed under urgency by this Government to deliver monetary compensation to prisoners—not to victims but to prisoners. That is the starting point. 
Then and only then will victims have any rights. The first rights actually belong to the prisoners. That is the whole structure of this legislation. It is a code whereby prisoners in our courts can sue for compensation and then as an afterthought maybe victims can have some rights to that compensation. But first of all the legislation is set up to enable the prisoners themselves to sue for compensation. It is a statutory code being passed under urgency that gives prisoners the right to sue for monetary compensation. 
There were other alternatives. The National Party suggested another alternative which was an inspectorate of prisons to deal with the issue of breach of rights because that is an issue of some substance. I know that my colleague Mr Brian Connell has had something to say about the way to deal with issues around international law and breaches of human rights. 
There is a different way which National has suggested. We believe in putting victims first not second. This bill puts victims second and prisoners first. We say turn that round and then the Government would be doing something worthwhile for victims. At the moment it puts the victims into some kind of torturous relationship of further victimisation with the perpetrator of the crime. The victim is expected to almost “hope” that the criminal will get compensation because only then can the victim get compensation. 
I say to the Minister in the chair that the best thing to do would be to set up a proper victims’ compensation procedure—not an inquiry. We have had inquiries. The Justice and Electoral Committee has dealt with victims’ issues for a number of years on other bills and the committee recommended that there ought to be a system of compensation as exists in virtually all states in Australia. The Government does not need an inquiry and the House should not be spending time in passing a code of compensation for prisoners.