Goldsmith Paul; Pugh MaureenSecond ReadingHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (Minister of Justice): I move That the Legal Services Amendment Bill be now read a second time. I'd like to thank members for their views on this bill in their first reading speeches. I accept that there may not be unanimous support for this bill but the Government remains convinced that bringing an end to taxpayer funding of the cottage industry of section 27 - report writers is necessary to rebuild confidence in the justice system and public spending. I'm surprised at the change in the Labour Party. I remember the former Minister of Justice Kiri Allan conceding when we pushed her on the increase from $40000 a year to over $7 million a year for these reports that Maybe this was something we need to look into in Government." So a year ago those members were prepared to look into it but now they're opposed to any changes and as the previous speaker said this bill sends a signal. Well it certainly does send a signal. It sends a signal that this Government is careful with its money; secondly it is taxpayers' money that we're careful with; and thirdly we're going to instil real consequences for crime. Up and down the country as we campaigned last year and continued to talk to the population the number one issue was the cost of living and number two was restoring law and order and people want to see that. So the proposed minor amendment to the Legal Services Act exempts section 27 reports from the range of legal aid disbursements that can be approved without limiting the independence of the Legal Services Commissioner. This bill doesn't change section 27 of the Sentencing Act in any way nor does it place any limits on the background information that offenders can provide to the court. Offenders can continue to use section 27 to call anybody to speak on factors either in court or in written form; the thing that is changed is the funding arrangements. I think we've seen as the debate has rolled how it's gone from $40000 in 2017 to $7.5 million. I have no doubt that if the people on this side of the House weren't raising this issue through last year and the year before and pointing out the massive increase in spending it would have continued on a trajectory towards $10 million and further and that is money that could be spent we think more wisely in the legal aid system. Information on the offenders' background will continue to be presented to the court through other sources such as their lawyer the pre-sentence reports that the Department of Corrections prepares or other reports that may be appropriate such as alcohol and drug assessments or psychologists' reports and through letters of support from family and friends and letters from rehabilitation programme providers. Progressing this bill under urgency allows Parliament's time to be freed up for the more complex legislation to come in the justice sector. Of course we've outlined in our 100-day plan the need to give police more powers to deal with the gangs in our community and moving further on to wider changes within the sentencing regime. So we've got much to do in this Government. There's a lot of work to be done to restore law and order and to give people confidence that the Government is on the side—Hon Member: Will it be scrutinised? Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: —of ordinary citizens law-abiding citizens who want to feel safe in their communities and our emphasis will be on the victims of crime—Hon Willow-Jean Prime: Well then a more appropriate sentence with a focus on rehabilitation would be a better thing for them. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: —rather than necessarily the needs of the perpetrators of crime. I'm getting plenty of commentary from the other side and I'm sure members of the public will be able to assess that. We will look closely at the financial impacts of the rules change to ensure that Government spending is allocated effectively and that savings can be used to improve services to deal more effectively with violent crime. This bill delivers on a Government commitment to defund these reports and I'd like to just remind people that what we're seeing at the moment is what some people might regard as slightly unusual. A series of parties campaigned during an election campaign for a change they get elected and then when they're elected they get into Government and do what they said they were going to do and that's what we're doing on this side of the House. We said we were going to stop the funding for these cultural reports we said we were going to end the cottage industry and here we are a couple of months after being in Government and we're doing it. That I hope will give New Zealanders and the people of this country confidence that this is a Government that will do what it says it's going to do and one of the critical things that this Government is going to achieve for this country is we're going to restore law and order. This bill is one step in that direction and I commend this bill to the House. Thank you Madam Speaker. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): The question is that the motion be agreed to."