Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity for speaking on this member's bill today. I'd like to acknowledge the member Darroch Ball for bringing this bill to the House. I know that in doing that by bringing this bill there was the good intent of really representing the best interests of our first responders in New Zealand. That was incredibly apparent to the Justice Committee when he appeared before us and spelt out the reasons why this bill had been drafted. I know that there are ongoing issues that our first responders continue to have to deal with and in the most simple of ways I think it riles human feeling and response because it is someone trying to help another person who is then in turn injured or hurt. That very sense in itself makes us feel that that is unacceptable. So I would like to acknowledge that yes there have been significant instances where first responders have been confronted with situations that are horrific and unacceptable. In my own family I can say that we have had that. My husband as a former police officer was stabbed in the line of duty at the time before stab-proof vests were worn by members of police. He had to undergo surgery and he survived obviously. But what I would like to say is that while this is a significant problem for New Zealand the reservation I have is the method that is being offered to address this problem. I've always in this House stood and stated that simply increasing a prison sentence does not address the underlying factors that are causing the problem. In particular a mandatory minimum sentence for such offending does not address the underlying problems that are causing this type of offending to continue to occur in New Zealand. What does address this is increased funding and accessibility to mental health services. We know for a fact when we look through the statistics that the vast majority of offending against first responders is tied into mental health and drug and addiction and alcohol issues. It is people who are not receiving the support and help early on enough that are presenting in these situations of violence and harm to our first responders. So by investing in better quality mental health drug and addiction services not just in our prisons but also at our GPs—by rolling out the services available that David Clark has done—so that when you go and see your doctor there will be someone who you can speak to regarding mental health issues in your life co-located in every GP that is a step towards addressing this problem. Also by having better quality mental health facilities—and that is being done right across New Zealand by increasing funding to DHBs to have better resourced mental health facilities in order for people to get help when they need it. It will also be achieved by increasing the drug and addiction treatment in every single prison right across New Zealand—instead of building a mega-prison having that downsized to make sure we have specialist drug and addiction services on site that people can access easily and have the opportunity of making life-changing decisions when those opportunities are placed before them.So I would like to acknowledge the member. I would like to acknowledge the good intent behind this bill and acknowledge all of the daily work that first responders continue to do in New Zealand. However I cannot support this bill for the very reason that it is not addressing the underlying issues that we discussed today.