Turei Metiria: Bail Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Turei Metiria: Bail Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:535] 
METIRIA TUREI (Green) 
: 
 The commencement clause debate is quite useful and it has been helpful to hear some of the more experienced MPs talk about it. I am interested in how the impacts of the Bail Amendment Bill are going to be measured once it commences and comes into force given that it has been only a year or so since the last lot of changes that this legislation reverses came into force. No evidence has been tabled or presented in the House during the debate about the impact of that legislation in the short period of time it has been in force. 
David Garrett 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. You directed that the debate would be narrow and on the subject matter of the clause. I fail to see how measurement of effects has anything to do with a commencement date. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker) 
: The member was relating the date to impacts before and after but it is broadening the debate out a bit. I draw members’ attention to the point that the debate is about the commencement date and issues around the commencement date itself not a wide-ranging debate beyond that. 
METIRIA TUREI 
: We have no idea when the commencement of this bill will be. What we do know is that once it has commenced at some time in the unknown future there will be a significant cost associated with it. The regulatory impact statement talks about $7 million per year plus another $38 million in capital expenditure. Those costs will start to be incurred on the commencement of this legislation. 
I suggest to the Minister of Justice that it would be a wise move to invest the same amount of money as will be invested in the management of this legislation once it commences on some unknown future date in the alternatives that have been known and proven to be effective at reducing reoffending in the past. Should $7 million be invested in rehabilitation at the commencement of this legislation at some time in the unknown future we would then be able to assess within a year of this legislation commencing whether it made a difference or whether the alternatives made a difference to keeping our communities safer reducing reoffending rates increasing the support for young offenders and to the subsequent issues around drug and alcohol treatment and the opportunities that might bring. But without a clear indication from the commencement clause as to how the effects of the legislation will be measured and managed it will be impossible to tell whether this bill has any point to it whatsoever especially as we have no previous information about the changes this legislation makes. 
I suggest to the Minister that if he can squeeze some cash out of his Government which of course sounds completely impossible that would be a useful opportunity to take on the commencement of this legislation. There is no point in passing legislation that will do nothing yet will cost well over $40 million. In fact even the regulatory impact statement says that it is difficult to estimate the impact of reversing the 2007 changes and it is virtually impossible to know what the impacts of this legislation will be once it comes into force. We are talking about the lives of real people here too. We are talking about young people’s lives about their ability to be educated to have their serious issues addressed and to get jobs. All of those issues are affected at the time that this legislation comes into force. We are not talking about obscure people or obscure numbers. We are talking about real people’s daily lived lives. I am sure many members of this House know of people for whom this legislation will have that very serious effect. Those are the people whom we are here to protect and care for. Those are the people who are affected by this legislation coming into force at some unknown time in the future.