Mark Ron: Criminal Justice Reform Bill — In Committee 
Mark Ron: Criminal Justice Reform Bill — In Committee 
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RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 I just want to rise and thank Heather Roy for bringing that matter to the Committee and placing an amendment before us. I have to say that eleventh-hour advice from her friend Stephen Franks a man whom I consider a colleague is often better if it is received well before the eleventh hour. I have no doubt that Heather will take that very firm advice and guidance back to Stephen Franks to ensure that we are more timely in our submissions and in expressing concern over issues in future. 
I thank the Minister. New Zealand First stands with victims—it always has and it always will do. We strongly criticise the Victims’ Rights Act the Labour Government passed last term because we do not think it goes anywhere near far enough. We are a party that believes that if it is OK to give inmates compensation then we should be giving compensation to the inmates’ victims for the actions that resulted in those inmates becoming inmates in the first place. 
That leads us to the other issue which is the amendment to deal with the sunset clause. Suffice to say that we will be supporting the Government’s Supplementary Order Paper 127 reluctantly and on the condition—which the Minister has accepted from New Zealand First—that this Supplementary Order Paper will give the Government time to readdress this issue once and for all and finally. 
We have a fundamental difference from National and Labour on this issue. It is very simple and this is how it goes. If I am prosecuted for assaulting the Minister and I go to jail then the Minister gets absolutely no compensation for that whatsoever. He gets the satisfaction of knowing that justice has been done. If while I am in prison I am being guarded by Mr Simon Power and I as an inmate am assaulted by prison officer Power then how is it that I an inmate get compensation for Mr Power’s common assault on me as an inmate? It does not make sense to New Zealand First members. New Zealand First members believe that what should happen is simply that Mr Power should be treated in exactly the same way that I was when I assaulted the Minister. He should be charged he should be tried and if he should be found guilty then he should be sentenced. If he ends up in the cell with me then that is it—end of story. There is no compensation for the Minister when I assault him and there should be no compensation for me when Mr Power assaults me when I am an inmate. It is pretty simple. No one should get compensation for that act. 
The fact is that we now have a system where that compensation is being paid out so the Government has at least tried to mitigate that circumstance by making the compensatory payments available to the victims in the first place. 
Simon Power 
: But you voted against it. 
RON MARK 
: Well if we vote against the amendment I say to Mr Power we end up with the first situation which is what we had at the outset—that is inmates would continue to get the $300000 or $400000 worth of compensation—but the difference is that they get to keep it. New Zealand First will not be party to allowing inmates to keep compensation. 
Simon Power 
: You were opposed to the bill. 
RON MARK 
: Yes I tell Mr Power we were opposed to it then and we are opposed to it now. But if we do not— 
Simon Power 
: Well then why are you voting for it? 
RON MARK 
: I would ask Mr Power to please listen. Our view is that if we do not extend this then tomorrow the member will see inmates getting compensation and keeping that compensation. So the member should not play games with me. 
We understand the reality but we will not accept a further extension of this sunset clause again. We expect that there might well be an election before then and some like-minded people might be able to sit down and put some sensible law in place. We would welcome that opportunity but we are supporting this extension only. That is how we see it in New Zealand First. We see it under the firm understanding—and the Minister has a clear understanding—of what we want. We will not support a further extension of this same clause. We have 12 months in which to sort it out I think. When does the sunset clause kick in—again? Well let us sort it out because the current situation is a nonsense. It denies the original victims true justice and we agree with fixing that situation. So let us get beyond this point and do some work after this legislation is passed because we will not be extending it again.