Macindoe Tim: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Macindoe Tim: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 21 June 2012. Volume:681;Page:3223. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
7. 
TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West) 
 to the  
Minister of Justice 
: How is the Justice sector contributing to the Government’s better public services programme? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 The justice sector is well on track to make significant contributions to the Government’s Better Public Services programme. The sector is working collaboratively on groundbreaking plans to reduce crime violent crime and reoffending. We will be reducing opportunities for crime by targeting repeat locations and supporting repeat victims targeting vulnerable youth and youth offenders reducing alcohol and drug abuse and reducing reoffending by strengthening rehabilitation services. The crime rate is at the lowest— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Before the Minister goes on too long I am not sure any members can hear this. There seems to be a problem with the—[ 
Interruption 
] Order! It would be helpful if members allowed a little time to try to fix it. There appears to be a problem with the microphone. 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: Would you like me to start again Mr Speaker? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I would like the Minister to start again with a briefer answer. That answer is too long. 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: Oh it was just such good news. Well we are reducing opportunities for crime by targeting repeat locations and supporting repeat victims targeting vulnerable youth and youth offenders reducing alcohol and drug abuse and reducing reoffending by strengthening rehabilitation services. The crime rate is the lowest it has been in 30 years. We have a great window of opportunity now to view the way in which our courts are functioning and our justice system as a whole is operating. We are committed to delivering better justice services and I think rehabilitation might be of some use to a few members over there. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I just hope that the public sound system is working. I want that looked into with some urgency because that is just hopeless. [ 
Interruption 
] No not the answer the sound system. Order! I meant the sound system’s performance. The Speaker makes no comments on the performance of most members. 
Tim Macindoe 
: How will the Justice Sector Leadership Board and the Justice Sector Fund contribute to the Government’s Better Public Services programme? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: The justice sector Ministers have developed a cross-agency plan aimed at providing an accessible justice system. A 4-year budget plan has been developed to integrate spending operations and change through to 2016. This is a first in the public sector. I am delighted that our Cabinet colleagues have shown such a level of confidence in the justice sector agencies. The justice sector chief executives who make up the leadership board are able to look across the entire funding of the sector and discuss the application of savings in a way that best achieves the sector’s goals. 
Charles Chauvel 
: Will most of the initial funding for the Justice Sector Fund which she told the Justice and Electoral Committee this morning will come from Vote Corrections be offered to the police so as to avoid a nil wage rise this year for uniformed officers; if not why not? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: In fact the decisions on how any underspends are spent is going to be made by the justice sector Ministers along with the chief executives. No one person makes that decision; it is one that we come at collaboratively and we can do so up to a total of $100 million without going back to Cabinet. So it is going to be something that every agency is going to be looking at: how they can better use the resources they have so that we do have some money to spend more particularly on rehabilitation—particularly of recalcitrant criminals—as we should. 
Charles Chauvel 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister did not address the question which was a very simple one: why will the funds that are going into the Justice Sector Fund not be applied to a particular purpose? She told us how the fund would be managed she told us what some general priorities for the fund would be but she did not say why it would not go to the purpose that I asked about. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Forgive me but if I heard the Minister correctly she said that she does not make that decision alone about where those funds will be directed. A number of Ministers will be involved and therefore she cannot say why any money may or may not be being directed to any particular place at the moment. I may have misunderstood totally. 
Charles Chauvel 
: Speaking to the point of order. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will hear the point of order further briefly. 
Charles Chauvel 
: At the Justice and Electoral Committee this morning the Minister was quite clear that she is the lead Minister for the fund and for the sector and if— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! [ 
Interruption 
] No no. Order! The member must resume his seat. That would be the subject of a further supplementary question not a point of order. If the member thinks that the Minister’s answer was incorrect or inadequate he has good material for a further supplementary question: why did she say at the select committee such and such? The member is welcome to do that but not to raise it by way of a point of order. 
Iain Lees-Galloway 
: Has the Minister used any justice sector resources to facilitate negotiations with supermarkets on the Alcohol Reform Bill and has she made any deal with the supermarkets to weaken the current Alcohol Reform Bill? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: I generally do not make deals.