Simpson Scott: Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims (Continuation and Reform) Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSimpson Scott: Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims (Continuation and Reform) Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 05 June 2013. Volume:690;Page:10762. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel): It is a pleasure to rise as chairman of the Justice and Electoral Committee to speak in support of this Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims (Continuation and Reform) Amendment Bill in its third reading. This bill has been brought to the House by the Minister of Justice the Hon Judith Collins. It is a good bill and it is worthy of our support. It has gone through the process of the House in full detail and in a way that I think has done both the Justice and Electoral Committee and this House proud.As a Government we make absolutely no apology for putting victims first. I find it quite deeply upsetting to hear Andrew Little talking about protecting the rights of the criminals. These are people who have committed wrongs and who are incarcerated for good cause and for good reason. It strikes me that it is a matter of basic common sense and principle that if an award of compensation is made to them during their term of incarceration the first party to benefit from that should be in fact the victims of the crimes that were committed and that have resulted in their incarceration. So this is a good bill. It is part of this Government’s plan to build a better justice system and we have embarked on a comprehensive programme for reform not only to enhance our justice system but also to protect communities to prevent crime and as I said earlier to put victims first. We are making no apologies for focusing our justice system on the rights of victims. We are staying tough on crime.This Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims (Continuation and Reform) Amendment Bill responded to concerns arising from the 2005 legislation that offenders should not receive compensation for wrongful treatment without first paying the debt they owe because of the harm caused to their victims. This new bill will ensure that the system is fair that it is balanced and that it will not lead to any unintended injustices. Our reforms mean that the victims of crime in the criminal justice system are obviously there because of no fault of their own. They are not there because they have done anything; they are there because they are the victims. And they have to deal with the financial the emotional and the physical effects of the crime that has been perpetrated upon them and committed against them. This bill seeks to do that and to do it very well.We have ensured that crime is coming down and the numbers are undeniable. Part of the reason that crime is coming down is the focus that this Government has been putting on the efforts to reduce crime and to make New Zealanders feel safe in their homes in their communities and in their families.One aspect of this bill that is of interest is that we received I think seven submissions. Those submissions recommended that this bill proceed with speed and with haste because they supported the legislation that came before the select committee. The expiry date of the Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Act 2005 was looming and we needed to move quickly to achieve the result that we wanted. That is the reason that this bill is before the House today.It is a very good bill. I commend it to the House. The select committee worked well throughout the various stages of the bill and I want to thank the members of the select committee who participated very fully in their deliberations on the bill. I commend this bill to the House.