Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:617;Page:12755] 
3.  
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
 to the  
Minister of Justice 
: What reports has he received of serious violent offenders being released on parole and committing serious crimes within a few days of their release and is he intending to make any changes to better safeguard the public from such criminals? 
Hon RICK BARKER (Associate Minister of Justice) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Justice 
: I have seen various reports of serious violent offenders reoffending. The laws passed under the National Government in 1993 automatically released serious violent offenders after serving two-thirds of their sentence. The new law passed in 2002 better safeguards the public with longer sentences being imposed and public safety now being the paramount consideration—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The odd interjection is all right but that went far too far. I want to hear what the Minister is saying. 
Ron Mark 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I was having trouble hearing the statement which I found to be quite controversial so could you ask the Minister to start from the beginning again please? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No I think the Minister can summarise what he said and conclude. 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: The new law passed in 2002 better safeguards the public with longer sentences being imposed and public safety now being the paramount consideration in every decision of the Parole Board. Offenders can now be kept in prison right up until the last day of their sentence when they pose an undue risk. Unfortunately even keeping inmates in jail until the last day of their sentence cannot guarantee that a person will not go on to reoffend. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: In the case of Arthur Gray a career criminal with a lengthy record of violent offending who was found guilty of attempting to murder a 19-year-old tourist in Nelson only 11 days after being released on parole why did the Minister claim that this man’s parole was “appropriately managed”? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: Yes I am concerned about offenders who reoffend whether they have been released on parole or have finished their sentence. The Department of Corrections does its best within prisons to minimise offenders’ likelihood of reoffending. The Parole Board does its best to deny parole to those people it believes are likely to reoffend. Many people are currently released under the old law and are automatically entitled to parole at two-thirds of their sentence. 
Ron Mark 
: After totally supporting the Parole Act of 2002 how can this Minister have any confidence in the Parole Board which is as he has just said legally bound to consider the safety of the community as being paramount in any decision related to the release of an offender after the board’s decisions to release William Bell Anthony Roma Gary Isherwood and Arthur Gray into the community who all went on to violently reoffend within days of their release? [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will not warn any member again about interjecting while questions are being asked. Three people have done so already and that is it for today. 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: Yes. I do believe that the current law is superior to the one that it succeeded in that the Parole Board now has public safety as its paramount consideration. Without going into a particular case I would suggest to the member who raised the question that if he has concerns about the Parole Board’s decision in a specific case he should raise those specifically with the chair of the Parole Board. 
Stephen Franks 
: Why does the Minister not deal with the problem of violent offending on parole by simply providing for a period of supervision at the end of every sentence instead of leaving a position where every sentence is probably a lie at the time that it is delivered? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: Having a period of supervision at the end of a sentence would be in my opinion equivalent to a parole. Some people have said that we should be getting rid of parole periods but parole has been part of our criminal justice system for 35 years because it is seen as being more effective in reintegrating offenders than simply allowing them to go free the moment they have finished their sentence. 
Marc Alexander 
: Does the Minister intend to make the Parole Board more accountable for its decisions in light of the fact that 86 percent of the prisoners that it decides to release on parole reoffend within 5 years—a failure rate that would not be tolerated in any other organisation and that undermines the board’s claim of public safety as being its objective? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: The only way one can guarantee that people will not reoffend after they have been released is to incarcerate them for the rest of their natural life. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Will the Government initiate a formal inquiry into the parole supervision of Arthur Gray given that he was released with minimal supervision—apparently to live in a Nelson backpackers—despite his long record of violent offending and given that because of his early release he stabbed a young tourist within centimetres of his heart? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: I have not got any specific advice on Arthur Gray whom the member raises but I certainly will make some inquiries. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: With over 55 percent of violent offenders being reconvicted within 2 years—and knowing that Taffy Hotene killed Kylie Jones while on parole and William Duane Bell slaughtered the Mount Wellington - Panmure Returned Services Association workers while on parole—when will the Government realise its soft parole policies are a complete failure? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: I reject emphatically the assertion in that question. This Government is very concerned about public safety. I say to the member who knows this very well that the Government has changed the rules for example on preventive detention. There is now a wider range of crimes that people can be held for on preventive detention and the age has been lowered. That is out of a concern for public safety. We have improved the quality of the law. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: I seek leave to table an answer to a written question where the Minister of Corrections states that Arthur Gray’s supervision was “appropriately managed”. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that written question. Is there any objection? There is.