Shanks Katrina: Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) — In Committee 
Shanks Katrina: Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) — In Committee 
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KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
: 
 It is my pleasure to take a call on the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) this evening. In fact it is not my pleasure. I am actually saddened and pretty sickened to take a call on this type of legislation. It saddens and sickens me that we have to pass legislation to protect our children and our most vulnerable adults from abuse and neglect in New Zealand. I do not know when we decided in New Zealand that it was in any form acceptable to abuse and neglect our vulnerable adults and children but I know we do it and we do it very well in New Zealand. 
This bill is one of the solutions that this Parliament can take to protect our children and vulnerable adults from assault neglect and ill-treatment. This bill is about protection—that is why we have this legislation here today. It is about holding to account people who do these terrible acts or who turn a blind eye to these terrible acts every day in our society. 
This legislation will provide greater accountability for the acts of violence against and abuse and neglect of children and vulnerable adults. It will affirm that special status that children and vulnerable adults have under criminal law and will enforce the current obligations that parents and caregivers have to protect them from harm. It will recognise that other members of the community have responsibility as well for the well-being of children and vulnerable adults in certain limited circumstances. 
When we talk about protecting our children and our vulnerable adults I think it is important to acknowledge that the issue is not about just the immediate parents. It is also about the community taking that responsibility. I know that in the second reading of this bill we talked about the fact that it takes a community to raise a family and to raise a child. I think we all have to sit back and look at what is happening in our own communities with our neighbours and in our extended families and take responsibility as well. 
This bill is about breaking the code of silence that exists in our communities and it includes a new offence—the failure to protect a child or vulnerable adult. For me this is a no-brainer and for many people listening tonight this is exactly what we should be doing as we watch innocent lives being wasted and see lives being taken away from our youngest children our most vulnerable in New Zealand because we have not had action before. I do believe that this bill will turn round some people when they are sitting by watching it happen. They will think that they can make a difference. 
We had a number of submissions to the Social Services Committee that called for tougher penalties against those who abuse and tighter controls on at-risk families. It is about getting that balance right. The bill increases the maximum penalty for breaching a duty from 7 years’ imprisonment to 10 years and it doubles the penalty for the offence of the ill-treatment of a child from 5 years to 10 years. 
The Government is also carrying out a number of programmes aimed at improving the situation of at-risk families. Our initiative to address the drivers of crime is preventive to ensure that women families and whanau are connected to the maternity and early parenting services they need when they need them. We know that early intervention is so important to making a difference in people’s lives. 
Another important aspect of the bill is the inclusion of vulnerable adults. Clause 7 substitutes new sections 195 and 195A so the provision in the principal Act was widened and it was widened deliberately to ensure that the elderly the disabled and those who cannot remove themselves from a situation are also covered. I think it is terribly sad in New Zealand when we have to pass legislation to protect our elderly and protect our disabled from people abusing and neglecting them. 
Age Concern gave a fantastic submission to the Social Services Committee in support of the extension of the legislation to include vulnerable adults. Our committee discussed in depth the qualifiers of being considered vulnerable. This is typically an area that New Zealand does not like talking about but it is an issue that we must face particularly as our population ages. 
The key test in the definition of a vulnerable adult relates to whether a person is able to withdraw him or herself from the care or charge of another person as a consequence of that person’s age or any other cause. It is not a person’s age that results in him or her being vulnerable. However it is that loss of independence of freedom that makes someone more vulnerable. 
As a whole the select committee worked hard to incorporate the suggestions of submitters during the select committee process and we have come up with a bill that will go a long way to ensure that our most vulnerable are protected and that those who are responsible for abuse and neglect and who watch abuse and neglect are also held accountable. We cannot sit back and do nothing and I believe that this bill is a part of the solution to make a difference in New Zealand. Thank you.