Barker Rick: Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Bill — In Committee Procedure Third Reading 
Barker Rick: Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Bill — In Committee Procedure Third Reading 
[Volume:626;Page:21016] 
Hon RICK BARKER (Associate Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Prisoners' and Victims' Claims Bill be now read a third time 
. The House has listened for several hours now to a raft of ludicrous and false claims from the Opposition about this bill. We have heard claims that it will compensate vicious prisoners that it will give prisoners new rights and that it will extinguish the rights of victims etc. All of those claims are of course absolute nonsense and the members making them know it. 
I want to recap on what this bill actually does. In August 2004 a group of Auckland prison inmates were awarded a total of $130000 after the High Court found aspects of the behaviour management regime that operated at Paremoremo unlawful. The reason they were able to claim compensation was that the National Government during the 1990s of which Tony Ryall was a member did not legislate to overturn the landmark decision made in the  
Baigent 
 case that monetary compensation was available for breaches of human rights. I repeat that the  
Baigent 
 case made it clear that monetary compensation was available for breaches of human rights and the National Government did nothing whatsoever to change that. This bill does not give prisoners the right to claim compensation for breaches of their rights. National had already ensured that they would have that right. They have had it for 10 years. 
The bill being passed today by the Labour-Progressive Government with the support of the Green Party for the first time establishes guidelines that restrict the circumstances in which courts may award compensation in the most serious cases of prisoner abuse. The prisoners will have to demonstrate that they have tried to use the prison complaints system to have their grievances resolved at the earliest opportunity before the matter escalates. The court will have to be satisfied that a non-monetary remedy would not be sufficient to address the claim. This bill does not extend prisoners’ rights to compensation—the rights the National Government let them have. It limits those rights. 
Of course the Opposition claims in a fit of outrage—which it apparently did not feel 10 years ago and in its time in Government since then—that we should go further and rule out all possibility of compensation no matter how grievously a prisoner might be abused. Doing that now would put us clearly in breach of international human rights law. This Government has made it clear from day one that we will not breach our international obligations in addressing this problem. To do so would seriously undermine our international credibility. No other country with which we would like to be compared—the United Kingdom Australia Canada the United States and the European nations—rules out the possibility of monetary compensation as a remedy for the worst breaches of prisoners’ human rights. None of those countries does that. 
This bill does not limit or reduce victims’ rights as is claimed by the Opposition. In fact it greatly enhances victims’ rights to pursue civil damages claims against an offender. It does this in two ways. Firstly it suspends the limitation period that applies to all civil claims while an offender is in prison. Offenders in prison cannot earn money which means that making civil claims for damages against them is a waste of time. Suspending the limitation period means that the victim will have more time after the prisoner is released in which to pursue a claim if for example a prisoner comes into a windfall payment from an inheritance or a lottery win or makes money from a successful business venture as may be the case with white-collar criminals. 
Secondly if a prisoner is awarded compensation despite the new guidelines strictly limiting such payouts the compensation will now be held in trust rather than released to the prisoner. Victims of the offender will be contacted and assisted in making a civil claim for damages against that sum. Making such a claim will not re-victimise the victim. The facts of the offence will not need to be re-proven. Claims will be determined on the papers. The victim will not have to confront the offender or even fill out the forms. Other persons or organisations may fill out the forms on the victim’s behalf. Not one cent of compensation payment will be turned over to the prisoner until all civil claims from victims as well as outstanding reparation payments and outstanding legal aid charges are satisfied. 
These are new rights and this bill extends new assistance to victims. This bill ensures that all the cases causing concern to the public are captured. The Taunoa payment if it is upheld on appeal will be subject to the new trust procedure and victims will be assisted in making claims against it. The 200 new cases that Mr Taunoa’s lawyer has indicated he intends to bring will also be subject to the new guidelines restricting compensation. In the event that any of these cases result in a compensation award despite the new restrictions those funds will be held in trust. 
Of course the best way to avoid having to make future payouts to prisoners is to prevent the grounds from which such claims first arise. For that reason the Government has agreed to a very constructive suggestion by the Greens that we follow the passage of this bill with legislation to establish a new independent prison complaints body. Such a body will help to ensure that complaints and problems in prisons are dealt with early before they escalate to the point where grounds for damages claims might arise. Legislation establishing the new body will be passed by the end of 2006. 
With a new complaints body in place the likelihood of future payouts being ordered is expected to fall dramatically. For that reason the bill contains a sunset clause that will effectively wind down the special claims procedure in a period after the new complaints body is established. The procedure will apply only to claims lodged by prisoners prior to 1 July 2007. A second sunset clause ensures that the guidelines restricting the circumstances in which compensation payments may be made will be reviewed before the same date. The Government has agreed with the Greens that the guidelines will benefit from a future review in the light of experience before being amended or renewed. 
The Justice and Electoral Committee has recommended that there be an inquiry into support available for victims of serious crimes and the place of victims in the justice system. The Greens also have expressed a strong desire for such an inquiry. The Government has agreed that such an inquiry will take place. Most New Zealanders find it abhorrent when prisoners are awarded compensation payments for wrongs they have suffered in prison while prisoners have never paid any compensation at all for the harm they have inflicted on their victims. This bill tackles the problem by greatly restricting prisoners’ ability to claim such payments and greatly enhancing victims’ rights to take their own civil damages cases against the offenders who have wronged them. 
The Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Bill deals effectively with the current cases causing concern and with cases that are foreshadowed. The new independent complaints body will reduce the likelihood of future cases arising. This new law strikes a far better balance in favour of victims than the law as the previous National Government left it which gave prisoners unfettered access to compensation. It is National’s law that has led to the current round of cases and it is that law that the Labour-Progressive Government is fixing today with the support of the Greens. I commend this bill to the House.