Borrows Chester: Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill — New Zealand Bill of Rights Act Compliance First Reading 
Borrows Chester: Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill — New Zealand Bill of Rights Act Compliance First Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1434] 
CHESTER BORROWS (National—Whanganui) 
: 
 I rise in support of the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill. It is important to note that of course the first role of the Government is to protect its citizens. That point is often made in this House. It is within the capability of the Government though to protect only the vulnerable to prevent a state of anarchy and vigilantism. It is imperative then that the Government takes that role seriously and that is what the National Government is doing. 
It is important to note that the role of sentencing as defined within the Sentencing Act is denunciation deterrence rehabilitation reparation and restoration. Some people would assume that it is only about punishment which is not the case. 
Here is another bill that delivers on National’s promise to put before Parliament bills that will positively impact on the safety of vulnerable New Zealanders. Members cannot look at this bill in isolation; they need to look at the other bills that have been put before the House recently which include the Children Young Persons and Their Families (Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Orders) Amendment Bill the body sampling legislation the Bail Amendment Bill the legislation in respect of short-term protection orders the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Bill which was before the House last night the gang legislation and a number of others. 
Other legislation will be introduced in the House that will enable better rehabilitative programmes to be offered earlier in prison. It is important to draw the attention of the House to the fact that under the previous Government prisoners had to do at least 2 years in jail before they could receive any rehabilitative programmes at all irrespective of the fact that 83 percent of the people in our prisons have drug and alcohol dependency issues. 
We have heard that there is consensus among all those involved in the criminal justice system that there are people who should never be allowed out of prison and that those people are generally identified by their violent offending. Even Labour members nod their heads at that. The question is how we define those offenders and the answer is that we define them by the worst serious violent offending. It is not a reactive political knee-jerk to bring the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill before the House; it is a clear and logical response which has struck a chord with the public. Public agreement is not a reason to condemn this initiative—and it is popular with the public—but it is one of the many good reasons why it should be supported. 
I would like to say in closing that I do not accept that prisoners should be referred to as “scumbags” “dirt bags” “dross of society” or anything else. I believe that many—if not all—of the people in our prisons actually fall on a continuum that runs between victim and offender and that somebody other than them has created or helped to create the people who sit behind bars. It is our duty as a society to protect those who are most vulnerable. Some of those people are in jail; most of them are on the street. 
I look forward to seeing the progress of this legislation through the select committee process and I look forward to being part of the select committee that will work on it. National’s position is that we will support the bill’s referral to the Law and Order Committee and that was part of the confidence and supply agreement. Thank you.