Mitchell MarkPROTECTION FOR FIRST RESPONDERS AND PRISON OFFICERS BILLFirst ReadingDebate resumed from 17 October 2018.Hon MARK MITCHELL (National—Rodney): Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. It's a pleasure to take your call on this the first reading of the Protection for First Responders and Prison Officers Bill. And can I acknowledge the member Darroch Ball for bringing this bill to the House. It's very unusual that—and the Opposition will be taking the first call. I have to say on reading this bill it's very much like a National Party bill and had we brought this to the House it's highly unlikely that we would have had the support of the Labour Party or the Green Party. But I understand that both of them are supporting this bill through first reading and to select committee so that's great to know that the bill has got has got cross-House and cross-party support. It is a very good bill because it is strengthening the penalties that the judge and the court can hand down to offenders that assault our first responders. And whether it be our police officers whether it be our firefighters or our paramedics our St John Ambulance officers—we as a country ask them to go out and do a job that is tough it's challenging and often they have to deal with unsavoury characters that are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. And a sad reality of their job is that they are often exposed to and subject to assault. The one thing that they can ask us to do—the one thing that they can ask from us as a Parliament—is to recognise that and to take it seriously and to send a very clear message to offenders that actually they'll be dealt with with the full force of the law. And if you want to assault a first responder if you want to attack a first responder then actually what this bill is saying is that you will face a minimum of six months in prison. Now there is a clause there—the manifestly unjust clause which is contained also in the three-strikes legislation—which does allow a judge under extraordinary circumstances to be able to make a different ruling or apply a different sentence. But fundamentally if someone assaults or attacks a first responder then they'll now be sent a very clear message that you'll be going to jail for six months. That's a good thing.The only problem that we do have with this bill—we could argue that it doesn't go far enough. But one of the issues that we do have with this bill—and we'll be talking to the sponsor of the bill and we'll be using the opportunity as it goes through the select committee process—is we actually feel very strongly that nurses and doctors and staff working in the emergency department are subjected to exactly the same threats challenges assaults and attacks that our firefighters our paramedics and our police have to face.We actually think that as a Parliament and as a country we can send a very positive message there as well. We could say that we're not going to tolerate that. If you are taken to an emergency room where actually these people are fundamentally driven by one thing and that is to care for people and to try and make them well and if they're subjected to an assault or an attack actually we feel that the offenders should be sent a very clear message as well. They should be going to jail for six months—that's the starting point. That is the starting point.Can I just say that last year there was a debate that personally I was highly offended by in this House and it was around the three-strikes legislation. And it is relevant to this bill because actually it related to our corrections officers. The same thing applies to our corrections officers as applies to our police officers to our paramedics and to our firefighters. We ask them as a country to take on a very difficult job—a job that most of us would probably not want to take on or have a crack at ourselves. So what we need to do is we need to say as a Parliament that if you are assaulted if you are attacked we're going to back you up and we're going to support you. We're going to make sure that we send a very loud clear powerful message from this Parliament and this House to say that if you do that an attack on a corrections officer is an attack on all of us.I was disappointed that in this House last year we had a debate around that because there was a trivialisation of an attack on a corrections officer to the point where I received correspondence from other corrections officers saying that We want to feel like we have the support of this Parliament. We don't want to feel like you are going to trivialise an attack or an assault on us. We should be able to go into our workplace. We should be able to feel safe there." And that didn't happen in this House last year.So I want to appeal to the Opposition—I see the justice Minister is in the House tonight and it's good to see him here. I want to appeal to the Opposition—[Interruption] Sorry; what was that?Hon James Shaw: You said you wanted to appeal to the Opposition. I think you're the Opposition.Hon MARK MITCHELL: The Green Party leader is being very helpful in pointing out that the justice Minister is not in the Opposition. That's helpful. So I appeal to the justice Minister and the Government—is that better?I hope Minister that you're going to take a call tonight on this bill. I'm not sure. I see you in the House; I hope that you are. And I hope that you are going to get up and you're going to restate clearly for this House that actually you do support our corrections officers and you do support our firefighters our police officers and our paramedics—especially in light of what we saw transpire as the events unfolded in Christchurch two and a half weeks ago—and that actually you're going to support a bill like this and you're going to say "The one thing that we can do in this Parliament is that we can back you up we can support you and we can say as a country that we're not going to tolerate it. We're not going to put up with it."Kieran McAnulty: Wait for a Labour member to speak. Don't be so arrogant.Hon MARK MITCHELL: Sorry what was that Mr McAnulty? If you're going to say something say it loud enough so I can hear you. What was it?Kieran McAnulty: I called you arrogant for a start and second of all—Hon MARK MITCHELL: Mr McAnulty's calling me arrogant. You're calling me arrogant for what Mr McAnulty—for what?Kieran McAnulty: Do you really want to get into that exchange?Hon MARK MITCHELL: Oh he's speechless now. He doesn't know what to say. If you want to get up and say something—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! Order! [Interruption] Order! Don't bring me into the debate. And second if you two want to have a discussion take it out into the lobby. Finish your speech.Hon MARK MITCHELL: Well I'd suggest—I take offence at your tone too actually Mr Assistant Speaker.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Really? Order! E noho. No no. This is a time for members to debate this bill. I'm not going to tolerate having a conversation going on where the member is questioning another member and that's kind of the interaction. This is the time to take a very serious bill seriously. But my ruling is really I made a ruling and then you questioned it—that's out of order. Don't do it again.Hon MARK MITCHELL: I agree with you Mr Assistant Speaker. This is a serious bill.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! I just made another ruling and you're commenting on it. Just go to the speech.Hon MARK MITCHELL: So this is a very serious bill and I'd ask any of the members opposite if you want to be brave enough to make an interjection and call something out take a call. Let us hear what you have to say on this bill.We do support this bill. We do want to see the protections that are going to be provided for our first responders extended to our emergency services personnel—in particular our doctors and our nurses in the ER. We actually feel that they do deserve that same level of protection. We believe that they deserve to have a message sent from us as a Parliament saying that we will take it seriously if they're assaulted. And I can tell you now if you visit an emergency department in any major centre around the country on a Friday or Saturday night you'll see what they have to put up with. You'll see what they have to face—mainly because of drugs mainly a lot of synthetic drugs and alcohol. And actually although you may not believe it Ms Curran they do actually deserve to have the same level of protection. They do actually deserve to be recognised the same way that our first responders do. Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker."