Adams Amy: Parole Amendment Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeAdams Amy: Parole Amendment Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 06 November 2014. Volume:701;Page:740. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister of Justice):I move That the Parole Amendment Bill be now read a second time. This bill demonstrates the Government’s ongoing commitment to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the justice system. It also underlines our commitment to protecting victims and putting them at the heart of our justice system.Can I firstly thank the Law and Order Committee for its consideration of the bill. The committee received 29 submissions and has recommended that the bill proceed with some amendments. Three-quarters of the submissions received expressed clear support for the intent of the bill. The committee has recommended several largely minor and technical changes to the bill and the changes recommended will help ensure that the bill achieves its intended purpose.The bill makes changes to the Parole Act to implement the Government’s policy to reduce the number of unnecessary parole hearings where the offender has little prospect of release. The reduction in hearings will reduce unnecessary stress for victims of crime while also providing incentives for offenders to address their offending behaviours. The bill also improves the efficiency of the parole system by simplifying pre-hearing processes and clarifying issues around attendance at hearings conducted by the New Zealand Parole Board.The board currently holds around 6000 parole hearings each year. Release is approved at about 25 percent of those hearings. On average each offender has three hearings before release is approved. In a third of cases there are four or more hearings. Currently the Act provides that offenders must be considered for parole at least once in every 12 months after they become eligible for parole.This bill gives the Parole Board greater flexibility in scheduling future hearings. It does this by increasing from 12 months to 2 years the maximum interval between parole hearings where a postponement order has not been made. The change is intended to reduce the number of unnecessary parole hearings but not to increase the length of time offenders serve in prison. The bill also gives the board the power to identify any relevant activities relating to the risk the offender poses to the safety of the community that it expects to be achieved before the next hearing. Offenders as well as the Department of Corrections can notify the board where there has been a significant change in the offender’s circumstances relating to release on parole. There will be provision for a scheduled hearing to be brought forward when all of the relevant activities that the board has identified as necessary to make the offender suitable for parole have been completed earlier than expected.The bill also makes significant changes to the provisions relating to postponement orders. The board can make one of these orders to set a longer interval between hearings where it decides that no significant change in the offender’s circumstances is likely to occur in that time. The increase in the maximum interval between hearings to 2 years means that postponement orders are unnecessary for offenders serving sentences of less than 10 years. The bill therefore restricts the imposition of a postponement order to offenders serving indeterminate sentences or determinate sentences of 10 years or more. The maximum term of a postponement order will be increased to 5 years for all eligible offenders. As with other parole cases the bill gives the board the power to identify relevant activities for offenders to complete for their hearing to be brought forward when imposing a postponement order.The bill also makes amendments to procedural steps for hearings when the offender is not present and clarifies that an offender or other authorised person can attend any type of hearing other than in person—for instance by telephone or video link. This can of course be a more efficient way to conduct some of the hearings. In addition the bill amends the Parole Act to ensure that standard release conditions automatically apply to all offenders released on parole. A default period of 6 months for those conditions is provided for offenders on determinate sentences.These amendments are all aimed at streamlining and simplifying processes. It is intended that there will be savings made as a result of fewer hearings being held each year and importantly that reducing the number of hearings will benefit the victims of imprisoned offenders in many cases. There is little sense in holding hearings when the offender has not addressed the reasons for their offending and remains a risk to the community. Furthermore we need to keep in mind that these hearings do cause unnecessary stress and anxiety for victims as they are forced to relive the offence over and over. This bill is another step in our commitment to putting victims at the heart of our justice system. I commend it to the House.