Sio William: Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sio William: Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 13 September 2011. Volume:675;Page:21235. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 Malo le soifua talofa lava Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson. Thank you for the opportunity to make a contribution to the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2). Labour will support this bill through to the Committee stage. Labour has made it quite clear that whenever there is debate about legislation that is aimed at the protection of children from assault neglect or ill-treatment we will always support those measures. However we do need to make it quite clear that we have reservations about certain provisions and their ability to be effective in combating the actual problem. 
The bill is very narrowly focused in that it talks about protection from assault neglect and ill-treatment it addresses emerging knife crime problems and there are some specific parts to the bill. According to Minister Power the new offence of failing to protect a child or vulnerable adult will hold accountable household members who fail to notify authorities of abuse. The Minister has said: “It will no longer be an excuse to say you were not involved in the abuse. Standing by and doing nothing makes you involved and this bill makes it clear.” But as my colleague Dr Rajen Prasad said earlier when we look at what this Government has done in the past 3 years we cannot help but feel like asking whether this is it. Is this the sum total of what this Government wants to do to address a very serious problem? 
Collectively throughout this House we all agree that in terms of the abuse of a child—any child; it does not matter what race colour ethnicity or religious belief—there is a collective responsibility. The entire country has a responsibility to ensure that that child is looked after loved and cared for supported and given every opportunity to grow up to become an adult who contributes to society. The problem that we have is that this is a very broad issue and the Government is trying to focus us. It almost appears that it is content to say that— 
Kris Faafoi 
: We’re tough. 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO 
: —yes; it is being tough—as long as it places the people who are causing the violence in jail then that will solve the problem. Well members of Social Services Committee have heard time and time again evidence from significant organisations and individuals who are at the grassroots and who know their business. They have said to us that simply putting people into jail does not solve the problem. We need only look at South Auckland at Manukau. 
When this Government decided to do the tax switch and pay significant amounts of money to the highest-income earners and to then increase GST for the rest of the New Zealand population what did the South Auckland population get? A third jail—a third jail. We have to ask ourselves whether that is what this Government wants South Auckland to focus on. Is that what the kids should be aiming for? Should the families be aiming for that third jail? Well I am saying no. 
The problem this country has is not just a few parents who are unable to care for their children and end up beating them and destroying the lives of the very people whom they are supposed to love. It is much more deep than that and it is much more complex. It cannot be addressed simply by holding up this legislation. Although the bill is to be credited and we are supporting it that is not the sole answer. That is why we are saying we will support this bill through to the Committee stage but we do have reservations. 
We could probably achieve better outcomes to address the particular problem by non-legislative initiatives such as I would say increasing incomes for families. Families having incomes that can sustain them is one part. If businesses or companies are unable to look after their workers then I think what Labour is proposing about increasing the minimum wage is a step in the right direction. I think that Labour’s proposal to remove GST from fresh fruit and vegetables is a step in the right direction. I think that having no taxation on the first $5000 of income is a step in the right direction. Why? Because we have seen the reports from Every Child Counts and the report from the Child Poverty Action Group which said that there is a relationship between poverty and violence and between poverty and child abuse. 
I was shocked to hear from colleagues who work for Child Youth and Family who say that every time the Warriors lose a game there will generally be violence in some homes—not all homes but some homes. The mixture of poverty and alcohol consumption and the lack of control around these things is also a contributing factor to the problem that we are addressing. 
I hear all the time from organisations such as the Methodist Social Services and the Salvation Army that the problems are much deeper and more complex but that this Government is failing to recognise that. This Government is not advancing the resources for the wider community to be able to work collectively and holistically to address these problems as my colleague pointed out earlier. There needs to be an overall effort not just by the Government but also by other agencies and the communities if we are serious about addressing the fundamental problems which is what we are trying to do here. 
The point I am making is that every New Zealander and every organisation that is dealing with child abuse and working with families in that field will question the seriousness of this Government and will question whether the hearts of its members are really in the right place or whether they are simply playing politics—as they did in 2008. We know that in 2008 in order for National to win the election its members went out and started threatening and playing the hard line that every person who committed a crime would be sent to jail and in jail they would rot. But we know from listening to people working in this area that that is not the case. We know that at some stage we have to release those people and bring them back into society and rehabilitation and engagement with the community are both part of what we have to do if we are serious about addressing the issue of child abuse. 
Jami 
-Lee Ross 
: You’re speaking about the wrong bill. 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO 
: The member is saying that I am speaking about the wrong bill. That is exactly the problem of that Government—its members are so fixated on attempting to put people in jail when the problem will not be solved by simply arresting people and putting them in jail. The problem is much deeper and much more complex and legislation alone will not solve it nor will the green paper that has been released in time for the election. 
I think that National members need to be reading the reports of Every Child Counts reading the reports of the Child Poverty Action Group and looking at those recommendations. Labour certainly is doing so and Labour will focus on making children the centre of policy because Labour is serious about this problem.