Borrows Chester: Sentencing (Offences Against Children) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Borrows Chester: Sentencing (Offences Against Children) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:685] 
CHESTER BORROWS (National—Whanganui) 
: 
 I rise to address two or three issues that have been raised by speakers on the other side of the House. Firstly I reconfirm what this legislation does. It is a way of communicating with the court—with the judges and the lawyers. It is not intended to send a message to offenders because offenders will never read it. Mr Goff’s good friend Professor Hall who wrote a book on sentencing agrees that this is how Parliament communicates to the courts. Putting this legislation through under urgency does a particular thing that is very significant. This measure has been scoffed at by the other side but it is important to note that although this is just one small step that is taken in urgency it has achieved some profile because it has become part of what is known as the 100-day plan. It draws the attention of those people to whom it is directed. [ 
Interruption 
] Would Mr Goff agree with me that the offender who is arrested tomorrow morning for an offence he commits against a small child tonight and who pleads guilty and is sentenced before the court next month will receive a greater sentence because of the notoriety of this— 
Hon Annette King 
: It wouldn’t stop him doing it. 
CHESTER BORROWS 
: We agree but it is not directed at stopping anybody from doing anything. It is particularly directed towards the sentence that is imposed on an offender who appears before the court. 
Maybe if the Leader of the Opposition had appeared in court in the past he would have heard judges talk about recent statements from Parliament and the abhorrence shown by members of Parliament which is a direction to judges who pass sentences on those convicted of crimes to sentence accordingly. The statements made in Parliament are then enforced on those offenders and in this case the abhorrence of Parliament towards child abuse child neglect etc. will be reflected in a sentence that will probably be more severe than it would have been. 
It is true too to say that a number of measures are directed towards a particular evil in this society. Yes we need to direct a number of portfolio areas and the legislation associated with those portfolios towards child abuse. Some of it will be about education and health. This particular bill is about law and order and the justice system. It does not seek to be a silver bullet. It does not seek to solve all problems. It seeks to underline society’s abhorrence of these crimes and the fact that they are a regular occurrence. 
About one child is murdered each month in this country by the people who care for that child. For some particular reason we seem to murder people at about twice the rate that they do in the UK. We need to address the fact that we do live in a comparatively very violent society for a Western World country. I am pleased to be part of a Government that is prepared to do this. It is a small step at this stage growing incrementally with legislation that will come in during the next 12 months to address more serious issues. 
I finish by mentioning the comments made that this small piece of legislation has not gone before a select committee and has not had the opportunity to be discussed by those for example in the non-governmental organisations. If we did that they would say: “Just get on with it.” because we would not find a single non-governmental organisation that would not agree with society’s underlying abhorrence for these crimes and would not agree that saying through legislation that the age of a child a child’s vulnerability and the fact that the crime is a breach of trust should be added to the list of aggravating features under the Sentencing Act. It is bit like asking children whether they like ice cream. We know what the answer will be. So those organisations would say to us: “Look we pay you to be there so get off your bums and do it!” Thankfully we are and I am pleased to see that the Labour Opposition is prepared to support that.