Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:647;Page:16540] 
10.  
SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) 
 to the  
Minister of Corrections 
: Is he satisfied with the effectiveness of non-custodial alternatives to prison; if so why? 
Hon RICK BARKER (Minister of Internal Affairs) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister of Corrections 
: Yes. As the Minister stated in answer to this exact question on Tuesday imprisonment remains the only option for more serious offenders whom the public must be protected from and those people are serving significantly longer sentences than was the case under the previous National Government. However where the circumstances of the offences are such that the judge does not regard the offender as posing a significant risk the judge has the choice of either a short prison sentence or a non-custodial sentence. The risk of offending during non-custodial sentences is sharply reduced by the use of electronic monitoring. Actual absconding or reoffending remains at a low level. 
Simon Power 
: Is it worth saving a prison bed by allowing an alleged paedophile facing 12 child sex charges including the alleged abduction and rape of a 6-year-old girl to be released on electronic bail when he has since been charged with breaching his electronic bail eight times including by allegedly hosting two children’s birthday parties for boys under 3 at his Napier home? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: The decision on whether to use a custodial sentence or a non-custodial sentence is the judge’s and the judge’s alone. If judges decide that people have to go to jail they will and there are beds there waiting for them. 
Simon Power 
: Is it worth saving a prison bed by allowing a New Plymouth man to be granted continued electronically monitored bail when he is accused of holding two knives to a woman’s throat as he raped her three times allegedly stabbing her repeatedly and threatening to kill her infant son who was sleeping in another room and all the while counting down the minutes until he would kill her? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: What I can say is that of those people who are given a non-custodial sentence 98 percent are non-absconding. There is good control. Secondly these are judicial decisions. The judges are in the best position to make the decisions. If a judge decides that a person has to be held on remand in jail or has to go to jail there is a bed there waiting for that person. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Having heard the examples that the judiciary found warranted a non-custodial sentence why is the Government not writing to the head of the courts and to the Chief Justice to let them know that the idea that the judges can ignore the intentions of Parliament is one that we will not accept? 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I hesitate to raise this matter with my colleague but the questions asked by Mr Power did not apply to people who had received a sentence; they applied to people who simply had been charged and had been granted bail by the judge. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: That is not really relevant. The reality is that the charges should have meant that the person was such a danger to society that he was kept in custody awaiting the court hearing. That is what some of these judges are overlooking. 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: The member might say that but there is an important convention in this country and that is the separation of the powers of Parliament and the powers of the judiciary. If that member feels that he can make better decisions than the judges I suggest he applies for a position as a judge so that he can make those decisions. We must maintain our conventions. 
Simon Power 
: Is it worth saving a prison bed by granting bail under Labour’s new bail laws to a Christchurch man facing charges of manufacturing methamphetamine who then continued to make P while on bail and does the Minister agree with the sentencing judge who said: “It was quite ridiculous really that you were granted bail.”? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: It would be quite inappropriate for me to comment on the judgment of a judge. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Why does the Minister think it is a conflict in terms of the separation of powers principle to inquire of judges as to why they are not abiding by the law written by this Parliament; what is to stop him from doing that? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: Parliament writes the law and the judges have discretion as to how they apply the law in terms of sentences. If the judges wish to remand people in prison as they await their trials then they are able to do so. If they wish to grant them bail they are able to do that as well. It is for the judges to make the decisions. They are best placed to do that. 
Simon Power 
: Can the Minister confirm that the Government refuses to answer my written questions regarding how many accused have breached electronic bail only stating that “Cabinet will soon be making determinations in respect of these matters.”; and does that mean that the Government is planning to expand the electronic bail scheme or to ditch it? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: The member can draw neither of those conclusions.