Jones Dail: Courts and Criminal Matters Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Jones Dail: Courts and Criminal Matters Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 19 June 2003. Volume:609;Page:6462. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
DAIL JONES (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First welcomes this legislation because it is long overdue. We have been calling out for something to be done in this area for a long long time and at last the Government has finally got around to doing something about it. Ron Mark’s attacks on this issue and his pursuit of the question of fines are well known. Only the other day—about 1 May—he asked a question about how much was now owed in fines. I believe he was told that the figure was $487 million. Of that $487 million $314 million is overdue. What on earth is this Government doing? All right we have this legislation but it will take more than that to make sure that money is collected. It is no use the Minister over there shouting across the floor of the House to me. The public of New Zealand want this minority Labour Government to do something about it. Legislation on its own will not be enough. New Zealand First will continue to make sure that action takes place. 
Under the inspiration of this Government and its Ministers we are now in a somewhat ridiculous situation where clearly the police department has been requested to put out more and more infringement notices regardless of whether it collects the money. There seems to be a belief that if a traffic officer in Taihape stands at the bottom of a hill taking photographs somehow that will sort out law and order once and for all. I see from the police department statement of intent this year that in 2002-03 the performance standard for issuing tickets was somewhere between 200000 and 250000. The department intends to up that figure in the 2003-04 year not just to 275000 or 300000 but to 325000 notices. How stupid can this Labour Government’s policy be! On a policy of about 200000-plus infringement notices it cannot collect the money but it is willing to take the figure up to 325000. All that will prove is that there will be more money that they cannot collect. The cost and the time taken to put out those notices and suchlike will be an entire waste for the taxpayer and a waste of the police department. No wonder it cannot cope with burglaries and motor vehicle thefts! 
In question time only today we heard how statistics for those crimes were soaring. We heard how the situation in south Auckland—the Minister of Police’s own district—is out of control. Anyone whose car is converted these days will not see a policeman. He or she will ring the police department and be given a number for the insurance company and that is it. I am sure that the citizens of New Zealand would much prefer to see the police out there inquiring into car conversions rather than standing on the side of the road taking photographs. 
The offenders know the rules. They owe thousands of dollars in fines but what happens when they finally turn up just before Christmas at Mt Eden and other prisons on a warrant to arrest? It is Christmas so they are let off.  They turn up at 10 a.m. in the morning and at 10.01 a.m. they are let off again. What sort of a police system is this minority Labour Government running? We in New Zealand First intend to make sure that that sort of problem is looked after in this bill because it is not at the moment. The Government has turned up with a bill that is a bureaucrat’s dream—all this bill is is more and more bureaucracy. It is also the fines offender’s dream as well. All the rorts that were so ably mentioned by Ron Mark in this House today will continue as well as the rort about turning up just before Christmas. This bill is a dreadful piece of management of our fines collection system by this Government. 
Of course we also have the problem—similar to that of hospital charges—where everyone particularly in the Auckland area gets loads and loads of traffic tickets. They park endlessly double park and all of those things. One just has to live in Auckland to know about it. What happens? They get all the fines and then they go back home again. No one collects the fines and the Minister says: “Oh look! I have issued another 25000 notices. Aren’t I a clever laddie? Aren’t we all clever blokes?”. But there is no one there to pay the fines. Everyone knows the system. 
Ron Mark 
: They wouldn’t get away with it in China. 
DAIL JONES 
: If the fine were not paid in China I expect the car would be seized straightaway. We need to be tougher. This minority Labour Government is just soft on law and order. It thinks that if more and more notices are put out somehow that is being tough on law and order. It is not. In practice it would be better to have fewer notices and collect the money. What is the point of having $314 million-worth of overdue fines? Would it not be better to collect $150 million-worth of that and really do something about it? It would take fewer people to collect $150 million than not to collect $314 million because that is what it boils down to. More and more staff— 
Ron Mark 
: Sell it to Baycorp. 
DAIL JONES 
: We could sell it to Baycorp but I do not think that Baycorp would buy this one. Baycorp is far too clever for that. I am sure the Government has thought of selling it to Baycorp. There seem to be nods of agreement at that suggestion from members on the other side of the House but no that one has not worked. 
To conclude and allow this bill to be introduced tonight I want to say that I agree with Nandor Tanczos about the sentencing aspects and about how people should be allowed to turn up at court and be heard on infringement notices. Through a young person with whom I am closely acquainted I have first-hand experience of the fact that more thought needs to be given to students and low-income people who do not know the system but get caught up in it. Those infringement notices do nothing to allow students and low-income people to gain a good appreciation of the law. 
On the one hand I commend the Government for introducing this bill. New Zealand First thanks the Government very much for bringing it in; it is what we wanted. On the other hand we say it is not enough and we will make sure it is improved upon in the select committee process. 
Bill read a first time and referred to the Law and Order Committee.