Ngaro Alfred: Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeNgaro Alfred: Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 17 September 2013. Volume:693;Page:13449. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ALFRED NGARO (National): I am constantly concerned when I hear that member David Clendon talk about the issues and the rights of the offender over the rights of the victim. He actually turned round and said that this was electioneering. Well if we have gone out and we have said to ordinary Kiwis to New Zealanders that we want to embark on a comprehensive programme of reform to protect communities to prevent crime and to put victims first and if that is electioneering then I am not sure what that speech from that member was actually all about. Ordinary everyday New Zealanders want to know and ensure that their safety is actually paramount in this Parliament.What I am also looking forward to after this first reading is this Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Bill going to the Justice and Electoral Committee and hearing submissions. I would like that member to look into the eyes of the Sensible Sentencing Trust’s Mr GarthMcVicar and of the family members and tell them that the rights of offenders are far more important than the rights of the victims and that all the things we are doing in this legislation are punitive.This legislation is important. We know that the number of offenders we are talking about is between only five and 12 but the impact that they have on the community is huge—the trauma the tragedy. All of these things we know are significant in a community. It can never be understated Mr Clendon that what we are trying to do here is to put the rights of the victims first and ensure that our communities are safe. This is absolutely not punitive as the member has talked about.Let us address some of these issues. First of all he talked about the concern that the bill is setting a precedent for this type of detention order. This is a civil detention order. There are civil detention orders that are already used as part of other regimes that protect the community from harm. These include detaining people with highly contagious diseases or individuals who have mental health or intellectual disability issues that make them a danger to others or themselves. The bill does not affect the functioning of other civil detention regimes.Secondly Mr Clendon talked about the bill overriding offenders’ rights. The bill appropriately balances the right of New Zealanders to be free from almost certain serious harm versus the liberty rights of offenders who have served their sentence. By holding individuals in a civil detention facility and allowing them a high degree ofautonomy where possible the system responds proportionately to the legitimate objective of protecting citizens from almost certain harm.Mr Clendon also talked about the legislation being inconsistent with human rights legislation and international obligations. Let us just spell this out really clearly. Public protection orders are civil orders not criminal punishments and their sole purpose is to protect the community from near certain future harm. I would like to know what that member of Parliament who is here today would say if an offender had gone out and sexually and violently harmed a member of our community. What would be the speech from that member? What would be the response to the family members? What would be the response to the community? What would be the response to New Zealand as a whole? Would he stand up and say: “Let’s look at this legislation. It has been punitive to the offender.”? Well I guarantee that that member would not do that. He can say all the words that he wants but this legislation is important to protect the rights of ordinary New Zealanders.I look forward to this legislation going to the select committee and to hearing the submissions. I look forward to sitting down and actually being alongside that member and hearing the submissions from people like GarthMcVicar who talk about the importance of balancing the rights of individuals to protect them against the trauma and tragedy of violent and sexual offending on New Zealanders as a whole. This is good legislation. I think it is important and it is well balanced. I commend this legislation to the House.