Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:616;Page:11719] 
10.  
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
 to the  
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (CYF) 
: Was a grant made via the Maori Youth Contestable Fund as reported for a 15-year-old recidivist offender well known to police to purchase a computer as a “carrot” for not reoffending; if so did she continue to reoffend afterwards? 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (CYF)) 
: 
 No. However over 50 young offenders often with drug and alcohol problems learning difficulties and histories of sexual emotional and physical abuse have over the last 12 months been assisted through the fund to address their problems and engage constructively in our country. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Is it not correct that this young offender was given this computer by an agency contracted under the Maori Youth Contestable Fund in Christchurch because she was a young Maori offender and if she had been a non-Maori offender she would not have qualified and is this not the worst form of race-based policies? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: No. 
Dave Hereora 
: Can the Minister advise on some of the key objectives of this fund? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: Some of the key objectives of the fund which reflect the broader aims of the department for all children and young people are to improve skill development leading to education training and employment. 
Judy Turner 
: Can the Minister confirm whether it is Department of Child Youth and Family Services policy to provide expensive taxpayer-funded rewards for youth reoffenders before they have demonstrated behaviour showing they have turned from a path of crime; if not why not? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: My understanding is that there is generally a requirement for a commitment to improved behaviour before any engagement with the offender takes place. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: How does the Government justify this $10 million race-based fund which is only for young Maori 10 to 16 years of age who have been regularly committing offences escalating in severity and does she support taxpayers’ money under this scheme buying these young offenders computers gym memberships sports shoes and music lessons? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: Yes I do support the purpose of the fund which is to reduce the level of reoffending to maintain contact between the young person and his or her family to ensure that the young person accepts responsibility for offending and is held accountable and to ensure that he or she has skill development leading to education training and employment. In my view the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders would support that rather than what the member is proposing which is that if one has a young offender one should do nothing. 
Ron Mark 
: Is the Maori Youth Contestable Fund not just another trendy rehabilitation programme which like so many similar programmes is costing taxpayers an absolute fortune for no effective result; such as for example the faith-based unit run by the Department of Corrections that has just seen a faith-based member murder one of his fellow inmates—a highly successful programme? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: No. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: I seek leave to table two documents. The first is the tender documents for the Maori Youth Contestable Fund which makes it clear that this $10 million fund is not available to non-Maori. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: The second document is a confirmation from the Minister that such a grant as I described is consistent with the rules of the scheme even though she denies it. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.