Mahuta Nanaia: Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Mahuta Nanaia: Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:671;Page:17961] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato) 
: 
 I am pleased to stand and offer some comments on the Sentencing (Aggravating Factors) Amendment Bill. I will simply restate that if one was to listen very carefully to this debate one will hear that Labour backs the police. We are certainly sure that it is important to care for and protect our policemen our policewomen and our corrections officers. All that we are saying in supporting the bill to go to the Law and Order Committee is that we do not think it will make a big difference because judges at the moment can take into account aggravating factors around existing crimes. In fact if one looks at the situation when they do take aggravating factors into account one will see some variance within the judiciary in terms of when they make their sentencing options known after some consideration. 
Having listened to the member before me speak I can say that volume is no substitute for clear thought. Melissa Lee certainly demonstrated that. We want to ensure that the House is very clear on Labour’s position because anyone who listened to what Government members were saying would have heard them try to insinuate that Labour has no care or regard whatsoever for the good people who serve our communities day in day out in our provinces and in our cities in order to protect everyday Kiwi citizens. We absolutely believe that their protection should be at the forefront of the difficult duty that they do. 
I will raise the issue of security guards which my colleague Carmel Sepuloni brought to the attention of the House. It relates to what is happening in our prisons. Corrections officers themselves will say that double-bunking in prisons alone actually creates an environment in which it is less safe for them to carry out their tasks. Let us be very clear: the Government introduced double-bunking recognising from the sector—from corrections officers—that it was creating a more unsafe environment. This bill will do nothing to enhance the safety of corrections officers who work under those circumstances. We raise those types of issues as they present very real opportunities for the Government to take action and ensure that corrections officers are better protected in the workplace. 
If one were to take a somewhat cynical view of this bill one would say yes it prepares the way for National members on the Government side of the House to have a slogan that they can take out to the community. But it does very little in terms of delivering to where it is needed most: to those front-line officers to ensure that they are protected in their workplace. One of the members on the Government side talked about the provinces and the fact that police officers go out into rural communities by themselves every day. But those same members say nothing about ensuring that there is double-staffing in rural police stations. They are not raising that issue as a potential opportunity to address safety issues in rural communities although it could be a real practical step towards safety for officers who serve in those rural communities. 
I am concerned that the Government is misrepresenting the view of Labour. We support the police. We back them and we back corrections officers. We back the provision of a safe environment for them but we do not believe that this legislation will do anything to make a difference. 
Debate interrupted.