Cosgrove Clayton: Bail Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Cosgrove Clayton: Bail Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:518] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 Because this bill is such a small bill—both small in nature and small in substance—in addressing this clause I want to pick up on something that Mr Garrett said in relation to his party’s stance on law and order that I found astounding I must say. 
I think it was Mr Goff who challenged Mr Garrett in respect of his “three strikes and you’re out” policy. He said it was the biggest electoral fraud possibly in New Zealand’s history. People were told that after three strikes somebody would be inside for 25 years with no parole. The ACT candidate in my electorate Mr Aaron Keown rattled around the electorate with great aplomb and made that point. Mr Goff pointed out that after the election Mr Garrett who I am told—I ask the member to correct me if I am wrong—was at that time the legal adviser to the Sensible Sentencing Trust— 
David Garrett 
: A legal adviser. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: —a legal adviser and a learned lawyer by his own admission I think. 
David Garrett 
: I didn’t say that. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Well by Mr Hide’s admission. After the election he unveiled what the policy really meant which was that it would not apply or have any impact at all for 15 long years. That bowled everybody over including I suspect even the Sensible Sentencing Trust. Maybe the Sensible Sentencing Trust might want to ask for Mr Garrett’s salary back as a refund because then— 
David Garrett 
: I never got paid Mr Cosgrove. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Oh he never got paid—OK. He got paid to— 
Hon Phil Goff 
: They got value for money then! 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Yes they got value for money. It was pro bono all right—serious “bono”. He then went on to tell us why he had told the people of New Zealand one thing before the election and another thing after the election and I wrote it down. It was he said because he had not worked it out. He had not worked out that the legislation is not retrospective. I will go through the same example he did. If somebody commits a crime and gets say 7 years then comes out commits another crime and gets 5 years and so on eventually he gets 15 years. He had not worked that out and he was a lawyer advising the Sensible Sentencing Trust! I am sorry but I do not accept the explanation. I suspect he is a bright guy. He has a law degree—I do not so I bow to his experience knowledge and expertise—he was working pro bono or otherwise for the Sensible Sentencing Trust and I see that its magazine that came out a couple of days ago was trumpeting this position. I do not accept his explanation. We worked it out in about 30 seconds. I think even National Party members worked it out. 
I say to Mr Garrett that he will regret that attempt to hoodwink New Zealanders. New Zealanders clearly read the billboards. The position was clearly enunciated by ACT. If it took him 3 months of an election campaign to get out the calculator and go 5+5+5=15 that says a lot about him. Maybe he ought to be a little quieter in this Chamber. His integrity is intact of course—no one would ever question that. But certainly one would now question that man’s judgment and certainly one would question his leader’s judgment in co-opting a person who made such outrageous claims to the New Zealand people simply to get votes who is here in this Chamber on the basis of what he had told people and who then broke that promise knowingly—in my view—after the election. If he could not hit 5 on the calculator then + then 5 then + then 5 and work it out— 
David Garrett 
: What promise are you talking about? What promise was that? 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: The promise on ACT’s billboards that this would happen now that there would be an immediate impact. At every candidates meeting that I went to people stood up and asked the ACT candidate whether that would happen and he said “Yep we are going to make it happen asap.” I invite that member to poll New Zealanders and ask them because that is the impression the ACT Party created. 
Hon Annette King 
: The candidates. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: The candidates created it. Mr Hide created it Mr Garrett created it Sir Roger Douglas probably created it—every member of that party created the impression that almost the day after the election ACT would get some legislation up and bang it would come in and have an immediate impact. Then he says on radio and in print that actually it will not have an impact for 15 long years.