Burton Mark: Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill — First Reading 
Burton Mark: Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:630;Page:2324] 
Hon MARK BURTON (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 The Government will support select committee consideration of the Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill. The bill raises important issues about how we respond to children and young people who break the law. I may not agree with everything that the member who has just resumed her seat said but I think her serious contribution underscores that this is a matter that Parliament must take seriously and I think this bill attempts to do that. 
The bill raises important issues about how we respond to children and young people who break the law. These issues will be of interest of course not only to members of the House but to many people and should be given careful consideration. It is important that the bill be considered in the context of what we know about youth crime and what the Government is doing to address the problem. 
Police statistics indicate that the level of child and youth offending has remained relatively stable over the last decade and we should provide a backdrop to the debate here with these facts although there has been a small increase in violent offending. In the last year youth offending actually fell by 10 percent and I am optimistic that this downward trend can continue. 
The Government’s approach to tackling child and youth offending is set out in our Youth Offending Strategy. The strategy is a comprehensive plan of action that focuses on—among other things—improved leadership and coordination of agencies early intervention and new measures to deal with serious and recidivist offenders. The Government has invested heavily in early intervention as the most effective way to achieve long-term reductions in crime and ultimately to address the vexing problem of the burgeoning prison population. We have for example increased participation in early childhood education increased health checks for preschool children extended the Family Start programme and increased services to children who witness family violence. 
Many of the recommendations in the Youth Offending Strategy have been implemented in the 4 years since it was launched. Notable achievements include establishing 30 youth offending teams around the country training police and Child Youth and Family Services staff on how to work together the introduction of health and education assessments for many young offenders and new programmes to address serious and repeat offending. 
The Government is also taking steps to improve the legislative framework for dealing with youth offending by introducing the Children Young Persons and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 4) which requires that victims’ needs are considered properly and are recognised when dealing with youth offending. 
I turn briefly to the objectives of the member’s bill. I agree that when young people break the law we must respond quickly and firmly. Young people must understand the consequences of their actions and be held accountable for them. However this does not logically support the principle in the bill of adult punishment for adult crimes. Young people are not little adults. But they certainly do need our guidance and support if they are to lead law-abiding and socially useful lives. Incarcerating large numbers of young people will not in itself address the causes of their offending or improve community safety. 
The bill addresses the difficult issue of the age at which children and young people should be held responsible for their offending. Currently the age of criminal responsibility is 10 and the age of prosecution is 14 years—except in cases of murder and manslaughter where the age is 10. Accordingly at 14 a young person can be prosecuted for the full range of offences and his or her offending is dealt with in the Youth Court. Between the ages of 10 and 13 children’s offending is dealt with in the Family Court principally as a matter relating to their care and protection. When it is established that the child committed the offence and knew that his or her behaviour was wrong or contrary to the law the Family Court currently has a wide range of orders at its disposal. 
It simply is not true as some would claim that the current law is without remedies when it comes to dealing with child offending. The bill purports to lower the age of criminal responsibility for a wide range of offences from 14 to 12 years and to remove the requirement of establishing that the child knew the offending was wrong. I make the point that that confuses the distinction between the age of criminal responsibility and the age of prosecution. As previously stated the age of criminal responsibility in New Zealand is 10 and the age of prosecution except for murder or manslaughter is 14. 
This bill which addresses victims’ rights and how best to reduce the likelihood of reoffending—and therefore improve community safety—is an important bill. Although there may be serious debate about some of the measures within it there is no doubt that select committee consideration and wider public debate of these important matters are desirable. Therefore Labour is happy to support the referral of this member’s bill to the Law and Order Committee.