8. Question No. 8—JusticeNICOLE McKEE (ACT) to the Minister of JusticeQuestion No. 8—Justice8. NICOLE McKEE (ACT) to the Minister of Justice: Why was only $3.73 million of the $22 million approved funding for round 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Fund spent in 2022 and when the Ministry of Justice's website states Round 6 closed on 14 February 2022. The round is currently paused" does this accurately reflect the status of the fund?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN (Minister of Justice): Yes; that statement is an accurate reflection. Round six is currently paused due to a significant portion of the fund having been allocated to priority projects including the $6 million allocated in May 2022 to the Retail Crime Prevention Programme to assist small retailers implementing crime prevention measures including physical barriers such as bollards fog cannons and roller doors some of which my colleague the Minister of Police will update the House on today I am sure. The $22 million of approved funding from round five of the Proceeds of Crime Fund has been allocated to successful applicants. The $3.73 million figure referred to by the member only represents expenditure from 1 July 2022 to 30 December 2022 by the applicants themselves and figures are aggregated on a six-month basis with further figures expected after June this year.Nicole McKee: Why have almost half of the initiatives that had their funding approved in 2022 such as Te Whare Hauora which provides a safe place for victims of domestic violence not received a single cent of that funding?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: As I just described to the member in this House round five has been fully allocated and distributed to those successful applicants. Round six has been paused. I think it is probably useful just to put it into some context for the House though—some other large allocations have been made that have stopped our ability to be able to accept new applications to the fund. For example in round six a large-scale fraud was committed in an international jurisdiction with the proceeds being laundered through New Zealand and a multinational agreement and asset-sharing arrangement was negotiated with the proceeds then shared proportionately with other jurisdictions. For law enforcement reasons I can't go into the details of that fraud today but I use that as an example of the types of events and initiatives that those funds are being spent on.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Has she seen reports that lifetime Mongrel Mob member Harry Tam's company which received $2.75 million from the Proceeds of Crime Fund to run a meth rehab programme has managed to spend more than $100000 of it hiring one van; and if so is this how she thinks the fund should be spent?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: I haven't seen those reports.SPEAKER: I apologise to Nicole McKee. Sorry I should have given you that supplementary. I mistakenly thought you had already asked two so my apologies. Nicole McKee.Nicole McKee: Thank you Mr Speaker. Any bonuses would be gratefully received. Ha ha! To the Minister does she think that she's taking a victim-centric approach when more money has been spent helping the perpetrators of crime-related harm through things like cultural reports than on the victims of crime-related harm?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: I don't accept that characterisation. I think that victims have squarely been a core focus for our Government. This is embodied in the announcements that we made just last week—a three-part approach taken to the way that we look at dealing with victims who have been poorly served by multiple Governments over many years. We are looking at legislative reforms that strengthen and enhance the ability of victims to participate in the system. We are looking at trials that we are running and of course we are increasing funding for both Victim Support—we've doubled their funding since taking office—and we've tripled the amount of funding that's been available through the Victim Assistance Scheme.Nicole McKee: Is she aware that there are organisations that have been forced to close down due to the proceeds of crime funding round being closed with no certainty being given on when it will reopen again; and what does she say to the owners of the retreat who offered residential programmes for people suffering from drug and alcohol addictions who recently had to announce the closure of their Ōtāhuhu facility due to the Proceeds of Crime Fund being closed?Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: Well the first thing I'd say is just to acknowledge the roles that many people have I guess worked really hard on across a broad range of schemes in our community to look after those that have suffered whether it's from drug or alcohol addiction but many of the schemes that have been provided in the community by the community. Of course we can't fund all of them. We've had to make some decisions to really focus in on some of our priorities. They have included the response to retail crime for example and there are many other initiatives that the Government often has to invest in. But I do want to acknowledge and thank those that constantly give their energy and their work to support those in our community that need support from people like those you've clearly mentioned in Ōtāhuhu."