Swain Paul: Sentencing (Community Sentencing to Fit the Crime) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Swain Paul: Sentencing (Community Sentencing to Fit the Crime) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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Hon PAUL SWAIN (Minister of Labour) 
: 
 One of the surprising things that happened on Monday night was that when the Oscars were handed out Tony Ryall did not receive one. He does a performance like that every day. He is all huff and puff and no action. 
 It is a bit rich for the National Party to be lecturing this House on toughening up on crime and law and order. The National Party always threatens to ride into town and sort out law and order but do members know what happens when that party is in Government? Nothing happens! Do members know what is said about the National Party on law and order? It is all hat but no horse. 
What about the 1999 referendum? What was that a referendum on? It was a referendum where the public in this country said that it had had a gutsful of crime and that it wanted the Government to get tough on crime. It was a referendum on 9 years of total inactivity from the National Party in Government. That is what that referendum was on—9 long years of total inactivity. It is galling to hear National Party members who did nothing for 9 years—all hat and no horse when it came to law and order—stand up in this Parliament and lecture people about how they will get tough on crime. People do not believe them and that is why that party is languishing in the polls. 
As far as this bill is concerned I would describe it as political puffery from the ACT party. It is absolutely political puffery. The reality is that this bill is if we like part of ACT’s death rattle. It is a kind of attempt to try to show itself as tough. I mean if it had been a “Take ’em out and hang ’em from the highest tree!” bill or a “Take ’em out and flog ’em to within an inch of their lives!” bill we could maybe understand that it was an ACT bill but it is a “Let’s all get tough on community sentencing.” bill. 
Jill Pettis 
: Pitiful! 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: It is pitiful; it is pathetic. What it shows in fact is that ACT party members really have basically thrown in the towel— 
Hon Damien O'Connor 
: They have given up. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: They have given up and they are saying: “Well thank goodness! We can’t wait till September when finally it is all over.” The great Roger Douglas dream is gone. The “values not politics” dream is gone. This bill is from the ACT party. People listening to their crystal sets who are sitting around having a cup of cocoa will be wondering what this bill is about. It is called the Sentencing (Community Sentencing to fit the Crime) Amendment Bill and is from the “tough on crime” law and order party that is called the ACT party. 
Jill Pettis 
: What does that mean? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: The senior Government whip asks what that means. Well it is a very good question. I have had a look at it. “Political puffery” is the way I would describe it. But the first thing one would say about the bill is that it purports to really toughen up on community sentencing. That is what it is trying to do. Of course ACT never want to let facts get in the way of a good argument. The previous speaker talked about completion rates and that sort of thing. Well I know a bit about that. In fact when we look at the figures going back over the last 10 years we see that they have not changed much at all from those in the old days of probation. One of the reasons it was changed from “turn up on a Saturday” was that the New Zealand employment system had changed and people were working at weekends. Should we say to people: “Get sacked from your job and turn up on Saturday morning.” then pay them a benefit? 
Jill Pettis 
: No! 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: No that is ridiculous. This bill is totally unnecessary. There are a whole pile of things that I would talk about if I had the time. For example the requirement that the offender specifically provide for reparation or fine repayment is unnecessary. The courts can require that to happen now. Clause 7 suggests that community work sentences should be cumulative. Well they can be cumulative now. Clause 10 requires a court to take into account uncompleted community work when sentencing for a further offence. That is completely unnecessary because that can happen now. 
The ACT party has looked at what it can do to show that it is tough on law and order. This bill is not the “Hang ’em and flog ’em!” legislation that one might expect from the ACT party. It is “toughening up on community sentencing” legislation. It is a total waste of time a total nonsense and the Labour members will vote against it.