Andersen GinnyESTIMATES DEBATEIn CommitteeDebate resumed.Justice Sector (continued)GINNY ANDERSEN (Labour): Thank you very much Madam Chair. It's a great privilege to be able to talk about the great work being done under Vote Justice. What I really like about being able to speak on this issue is it really demonstrates how this Government is in fact tackling the long-term issues facing New Zealand. Vote Justice is such a good one to use as an example for that because it really looks at particularly those areas that are really difficult problems for New Zealand to confront like family violence and sexual violence. Focusing on breaking the cycle of offending is so important to be able to get into that space and make some real changes for New Zealanders. We know some things: if we tackle offenders there'll be less offending and less reoffending if there's less reoffending there will be fewer victims of crime and if there are fewer victims of crime then we are able to better support those victims of crime and stop that cycle of reoffending—which is the real difference that this Government is driving. It's really good to see that under Budget 2019 there are a range of votes that contributed to really bringing together a wide range of different organisations to be able to target family and sexual violence. From previously working in this space—it was incredibly disparate; there were different groups with different funding that weren't able to collaborate and get together. By bringing this together under this Government we've seen a far greater sense of information sharing that really saves lives. As a former official who looked into family violence death reviews in New Zealand one of the outstanding factors that we've seen in the past is that lives have been lost in New Zealand because there was an inability for Government agencies and NGOs to work together and collaborate to share information that in real-time can actually save lives. That's where initiatives under this Government have enabled us to address those silos and bring information together and in real-time share information that will enable those lives to be saved and be so much better. Facts are important so let's bring those into the debate. In New Zealand $4 billion to $7 billion is the estimated cost of family violence to New Zealanders in a year so it is so vital that we put that investment in there. We've seen over $320 million invested in that space which is so good to see. We know that there are a million New Zealanders affected by family and sexual violence and of that 300000 are children. CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Sorry to interrupt the member but we did agree that family violence would be debated—because it is cross-agency it would be debated as a whole in the social services and community sector. So you're just slightly ahead of yourself. GINNY ANDERSEN: Apologies Madam Chair. Thank you very much anyway. So the other area that was very interesting to learn about through Vote Justice was also the good work being done in the area of drug use in New Zealand. In particular the issue of methamphetamine was raised in that space. When the Minister spoke to the committee he acknowledged the fact that it's important that we do take a balanced approach in New Zealand; that's exactly what we're doing: taking a balanced approach. So it's important to acknowledge that if there is manufacture and if there are areas of cultivation and manufacture that those are prosecuted. But it's just as important to acknowledge those underlying factors that go into ongoing drug use and that those are treated as a health issue. That's incredibly important. They are also tightly tied to mental health another area that is working so well—much better—in New Zealand under this Government. So when we look at some of the programmes that are funded to address this issue a really good example of being able to take a balanced approach is Te Ara Oranga which has been funded for $4 million. Te Ara Oranga works in Northland and that's that example of looking at those that are manufacturing and prosecuting in that aspect but for those who are using—to be able to separate that out and be able to provide drug treatment to provide wraparound services to break that cycle of reoffending. That makes this Government so much different from the past one because it is tackling those long-term issues. It's breaking that cycle and identifying those issues that are generating crime which will mean a long-term change. We know that these are big issues. We know that these are difficult issues but that is not deterring this Government from tackling them and making sure we make a real long-term change in these areas. One of the things that is really important in that space is how much we see police collaborating with communities to tackle meth use. That is a great area to see that we are driving real change in. It's been a privilege to be able to speak on this area and it shows I'm proud to be part of a Government that is delivering real long-term change for New Zealand.