12. Question No. 12—JusticeCAMERON BREWER (National—Upper Harbour) to the Minister of JusticeQuestion No. 12—Justice12. CAMERON BREWER (National—Upper Harbour) to the Minister of Justice: How much Government funding has been devoted to section 27 reports since 2017 and what actions is the Government taking to address it?Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (Minister of Justice): I'm advised by officials that since 2017 $26.3 million of taxpayer funding was spent on crafting section 27 reports designed to encourage lighter sentences. Last week the Government announced our plan to end taxpayer funding of those reports and to put an end to a thriving industry that the previous Government left untouched.Cameron Brewer: Is the Government scrapping cultural reports entirely?Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: No. Despite the assertions made on the other side of the House the Government has been very clear that offenders can continue to use section 27 by asking someone to speak in court or by providing a written statement. Section 27 has not been scrapped; taxpayer funding of professional report writing is.Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Will the Minister implement the promises set out in the National Party's Real Consequences For Crime document which states Ending taxpayer funding for written cultural reports is expected to save around $20 million over four years. National will direct all of this funding towards victim support services which represents an increase of 29 percent"; if not what increases in funding for victims will the Minister commit to?Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: We are committed to providing more support to the victims of crime in the justice system and we're working with officials to assess the best options for supporting victims through the savings generated.Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Point of order Mr Speaker. That was a very clear question which was: will he commit to increasing funding for victims of crime? He didn't address it.SPEAKER: Good we'll try it again then.Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: Well I addressed that question. Yes we are committed to providing more support for victims of crime.Cameron Brewer: Why is it important that taxpayer funding of section 27 reports ends?Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: Well because there is a great deal of pressure on the legal aid budget and we need to spend our money wisely. Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Will he increase grants for victims of crime to access support services such as mental health assistance counselling or help with travel costs to court cases or hearings as set out in the National Party Real Consequences For Crime document or is that just another broken promise by National?Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: A bit early for that. We will work with officials as I said to assess the best option for supporting victims of crime. But one of the best things we can do of course is to speed up the processes of the court so they're not waiting years and years like they have over the past six years to get a resolution to the cases that they're facing to get on with their lives and that's the best thing we can do.Cameron Brewer: Is the Minister aware of any notable section 27 report authors who have received taxpayer funding?Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: Well members might be interested to know that the cultural report provider Hard 2 Reach headed by lifetime Mongrel Mob member Harry Tam boasts on its website that offenders "have received sentence discounts of up to 35 percent because of factors raised in our reports".Cameron Brewer: What other changes does the Government intend to make in regard to the Sentencing Act?Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: The Government has committed to wider changes to sentencing laws to restore real consequences for crime. That includes capping sentence discounts at 40 percent and my colleague Minister McKee is leading work to reinstate three strikes legislation."