Woolerton R Doug: Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill — Second Reading 
Woolerton R Doug: Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill — Second Reading 
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R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 My dad taught me and he used to say to me—because believe it or not I used to be a bit fussy about a few things in my early farming days—that sometimes but not always the seeking of perfection can be an excuse for avoiding action. While sitting here listening to these speeches I think sometimes this is what is happening here. Obviously I am speaking in favour of this bill and in favour of my friend and colleague Ron Mark as it happens. One would never believe it from listening to the speeches but Ron Mark’s sole purpose for putting forward this bill is to keep people out of prison. 
We do not want to see young people in prison and we do not want to see recidivist offenders amongst our society. We want these people to have a short sharp hurry-up if you like so that they do not pursue a life of crime. It is not a matter of saying whether we are to have the intervention—that is a good word that is used these days—at 25 18 or 17. The intervention must be at the age when those people commit the crime. Sadly I do not think Ron Mark decided that that should be at 10 or 13 but that is the age at which crimes are being committed and that is when the action must be taken to stop that person from going on to a life of crime. 
It saddens me a little but I can absolutely believe that all members of this House are concerned about this issue. In fact in many ways I can understand why Labour may not be as enthusiastic as we are about doing something about this issue. But I tell members that I cannot understand why National is not supporting this bill. The National Party that I used to belong to all those years ago would have been into this like a fox into a plate of mince. That party wanted to deal to crime back in those days but now I have to say in sadness that it has become an election slogan for the National Party. I think that is tragic. It has been brought out tonight in the debate on this bill and I could not believe it. 
Ron Mark had to ring me in my room where I was diligently attending to the affairs of State to say “Doug you have to get down here and see what is happening.” I said “Mate you will have no problem. You have the National Party you have ACT you have New Zealand First and there are a few others that we hope would come up on the day.” But he said “No. It is not true.” I said “Ron you are having me on.” He said “It is not true.” I asked “Who haven’t you got?”. He said “We haven’t got the National Party.” I said “Get out of here!”. 
I came down to the Chamber because I did not believe him. It is not because he is not an honourable member but because I was a disbelieving little soul. I used to know the National Party. I said “They would support this every day of the week including Saturday and Sunday—especially after what John Key has been saying.” But no; Ronnie was right. The National Party is not supporting this bill. 
Hon Member 
: Except for Brian Connell. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: Is Brian Connell supporting it? I did not know that anybody crossed the floor nowadays. Good on him! 
Hon Member 
: And Taito Phillip Field. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: And Taito Phillip Field? Good on him! But he is not here for me to speak to at the moment is he? 
This bill is about keeping people out of prison. I have heard people quoting Judge Becroft. I have heard people saying that criminal offending in this age group is reducing but they do not say what is happening to the 17-year-olds or the 18-year-olds. Those people have been through the system and they are being jailed in increasing numbers. They have been through the system they have been through family group conferences and they have failed. Now those people are going on to more and more crime and to more and more serious crime at that. 
I think that even at this late stage we will forgive National members for making speeches against this bill. We plead with the National Party even at this late stage to help us—help New Zealand—to stop crime. We ask those members to help us to do something for those people who are being attacked in their homes and to do something about the inexplicable crimes that none of us can understand that are being committed. Those members should help us not because Ronnie Mark said they should but because those crimes are being committed by younger and younger members of our society. We believe that those young people deserve a chance. We believe that those young people should be hauled up at a very young age and made to see the error of their ways. 
I cannot contemplate this bill without thinking of my grandson who is coming up to 10 years of age—actually he might even be 10; I forget how many candles he had on his cake last time. 
Hon Tariana Turia 
: That’s bad. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: I know it is bad. I cannot look at this bill without thinking of him. I will tell members what we have done to make sure that he does not end up amongst these statistics. Firstly his parents secondly his grandparents and thirdly all the rest of the whanau have given him love. We have given him love we have given him support and I daresay in support of section 59 of the Crimes Act I have to admit that we have given him the odd clip under the ear as well. He may well do something bad in the future; I am not ruling that out. But he surely is not doing anything too bad now. If he was he would have his father his mother his sisters his brothers his uncles and his aunts there to make sure it did not happen again. Sadly some people in our society do not have that support and they have to look to the support of the State to bring up their children in the way they should be brought up. 
I want to tell the House a little story. In doing so I just say that we do not want a vigilante-type society to come about just because people are rejecting this bill. I will tell the story quickly. 
Two houses away from a friend of mine there is a group of youths and some of them are very very young. They could possibly come under this bill. They create havoc. They hold parties to all hours of the night. They are two doors away from my friend and a new tenant moved in next door in between the two houses. The guy was big—bigger than Ronnie bigger than me but not quite as big as you Mr Deputy Speaker. Nevertheless he was a big guy. He saw the young guy next door come and take the gas bottle off his porch. He sat there and watched him through the window. Then he went and knocked on the door and said: “Son you have got my gas bottle.” “No I haven’t.” Bang! He smacked him in the nose and dropped him in the dust. Within the week a similar thing happened with another chattel from around the house being taken. The same thing happened. The big guy went over opened the door bopped the young guy on the nose and dropped him on the ground. The problem has been solved. 
That person sadly did not go to the police because he knew that the police could not solve that problem. He knew that these people were too young to come under the purview of the police so he dealt with the situation himself. I would not do that because I am only a little guy. It might have been me getting dropped— 
Hon Member 
: And you are law-abiding. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: And I am law-abiding. It might have been me getting dropped in the dust. But that is the sort of action that people will take if society through the justice system and our excellent police force do not do it for them. We do not want that sort of society.