Bindra Mahesh: Drug and Alcohol Testing of Community-based Offenders and Bailees Legislation Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBindra Mahesh: Drug and Alcohol Testing of Community-based Offenders and Bailees Legislation Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 26 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:2029. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MAHESH BINDRA (NZ First): I stand on behalf of New Zealand First to speak to this bill. This bill rightly amends three Acts of Parliament in an effort to improve public safety reduce crime and hopefully reduce reoffending. The abuse of alcohol and other drugs has been the bane of our lives. It is a major driver of violence as other speakers have previously mentioned and unfortunately therefore is one of the drivers in the breakdown of our society and the quintessential Kiwi lifestyle.We have to change behaviour if we are to ever rebuild the lives of the offenders their victims their families and our communities. This bill will change behaviour we believe. It will change the behaviour of hopefully all of the nearly 50 percent of offenders who report that they were under the influence of either alcohol or at least one drug at the time of their arrest. It will also hopefully change the lives of approximately two-thirds of community-based offenders who have drug and alcohol-based addictions.As the law currently stands the courts and the Parole Board may impose conditions requiring the offender to abstain from consuming or possessing alcohol or drugs but very rarely are offenders or bailees ever required to be tested for compliance. There is no legal authority to require offenders and those on bail to submit to testing nor are there any consequences for lack of compliance. To New Zealand First it makes sense to change the situation. This bill we believe will change the situation. The current three Acts—the Bail Act 2000 the Sentencing Act 2002 and the Parole Act 2002—are good. They give provision for the courts and the Parole Board to place conditions on release or bail relating to the abstinence of alcohol and drugs. However this bill gives these current pieces of legislation more grunt and more teeth to be able to bite at the offenders who are using and abusing alcohol while on bail or in the community.Personally having been a part of the corrections system in my previous employment I have seen the success of the random drug-testing system within our prisons. I have seen personally the number of prisoners within the wire who used to use drugs go down drastically because of random drug-testing. That system works two ways. It imposes penalties for non-compliance and at the same time it has brought in some incentives at the time of their parole hearing if they do comply with the requirements consistently.I must at this juncture congratulate the Department of Corrections on its success in changing people’s lives. Some of my colleagues have very unkindly mentioned that the Department of Corrections also deserves congratulations on getting rid of me to New Zealand First.The bill makes sense because it will require all those on bail or serving community-based sentences who have conditions imposed on them such as abstention from alcohol and other drugs to be tested for compliance. If they are not compliant there are consequences for stepping out of line. New Zealand First likes that.New Zealand is faced with a group of offenders bailees and parolees whose offending is directly related to their use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs. If we are to ever protect our people and property we need to seek a change in behaviour. Legislation drives a change in behaviour and so does having education and support services. New Zealand First hopes that this bill will mean that those offenders at the highest risk of reoffending because of their abuse and use of alcohol and other drugs will be forced to change their behaviour. The consequences they face if they are not compliant with the conditions placed on them once this bill has passed into law will encourage them to stop abusing alcohol and other drugs. We hope that not only are such conditions placed on them but they are also ordered to attend rehabilitation and support services so that they can learn how to manage their addictive tendencies. We presume that the testing will be random and we support this because it defeats the purpose if the offender bailee or parolee—