Rutherford Tom; O'Connor GregTOM RUTHERFORD (National—Bay of Plenty): Thank you Mr Speaker. It's great to stand and speak in support of the Parole (Mandatory Completion of Rehabilitative Programmes) Amendment Bill first reading in the name of Todd Stephenson. And congratulations to Todd—a first-term MP having his bill drawn from the biscuit tin. Luck was in his favour that day. Congratulations Todd—great to be speaking in support of this bill to the select committee stage on behalf of the National Party.On this side of the House we believe in a couple of things with our prisoners when they go to prison: (1) the first priority must always be to the victims and their families. And understanding the process that prisoners go through both as a time of understanding the crimes that they committed taking learnings from what they have done but also preparing to reintegrate them back into society so that they can contribute to our community. That's what this bill is sort of proposing to do. Prisoners as we know face many barriers to gaining employment post their release from prison such as poor literacy numeracy and educational underachievement. This results in many offenders unfortunately falling back into criminal activity. And that sees them back within a corrections facility. This bill is proposing to change that to get them a better shot when they come back out from prison and out of the corrections facility.Now the National Party is supporting this to the select committee stage because we're interested to hear the feedback that we receive from the industry groups and firsthand from the general public. I understand having sat on the Justice Committee for a few hours today—made a guest appearance—that that committee with great representation from across the House will piece together this bill and look to adjust it as they see fit to make it the most fit for purpose bill in law we can possibly have.This bill does create an incentive for people in corrections facilities to participate in practical educational and rehabilitation programmes—[Member sneezes] bless you—and to be better equipped with skills to lead a more productive life upon release. We agree that the broad aims of this bill do align with what the National Party believes on this side of the House. We want to be tough and crack down on the causes of crime but at the same time we also want to have strong and thorough rehabilitative programmes in place for prisoners to prepare them for release. The paramount consideration of the Parole Board when considering someone for release is the safety of the community. We must always have the community at front of mind when the Parole Board meets to make their decision on whether someone is prepared to be returned to the community. A prisoner's engagement in rehabilitation is one of the most significant factors for that consideration.I acknowledge we are coming up to nearly 6 p.m. on a Thursday evening and my colleagues whilst hard-working are ready for an opportunity to return to their local electorates. So what I simply want to say is on this side of the House the National Party is supporting this to the Justice Committee. We're looking forward to seeing the public feedback and the work the select committee does on it and we look forward to seeing it when it comes back to the House for further debate. Thank you.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): In reply—Todd Stephenson.