Simpson Scott: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSimpson Scott: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 01 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19086. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SCOTT SIMPSON (Chairperson of the Justice and Electoral Committee):It is almost the end of the 50th Parliament and it is nice to be so readily recognised by such an esteemed and long-serving Chair as yourself. It is a delight and a pleasure for me to stand and rise and speak in the debate on the Appropriation (2014/15 Estimates) Bill because as chair of the Justice and Electoral Committee I have been able to see firsthand the very good work that team justice in this National-led Government has been achieving under the leadership of the Hon Judith Collins. The Hon Chester Borrows has been playing a role of course; the Attorney-General has been doing a particularly good job; and then of course in corrections and in police the Hon Anne Tolley is doing a very good job.It is part of National’s role to build a safer New Zealand for all New Zealanders. It is an important part of our plan to provide better public services. Under National recorded crime has reduced to the lowest level in 33 years.Paul Foster-Bell: How long?SCOTT SIMPSON: Thirty-three years. Recorded crime is at the lowest level Mr Foster-Bell that it has been in 33 years. Unlike members in the Opposition we are tough on crime and we are tough on criminals. We make absolutely no apology for putting victims at the centre of our criminal justice system because they are the victims of crime and they are the ones who are in our justice system through no fault of their own. They are there as reluctant participants in a system that sometimes in the past has not treated them as well as it perhaps could.I want to spend a minute or two just going over some of the methods and some of the pieces of legislation—some of the things that team justice under John Key’s National administration has been able to achieve. We want to continue to reduce crime and the harmful effects that it has on citizens of the nation.What have been some of the key issues and what are some of the key shifts? Right from when this Government took office back in 2008 it has been a priority to focus on the things that matter for all New Zealand. Justice has been an important area for us. It has meant that harsher penalties for the worst offenders have been introduced. It means that we have been focusing on the underlying drivers of crime and better rehabilitation of offenders. We have also been ensuring that the justice system better helps those people who are victims of crime. As I said earlier we make absolutely no apology for placing the victims of crime at the centre of all we do in the criminal justice area. Labour remains to its shame soft on crime and soft on criminals.There has been a vast amount of legislation and legislative change. We have for example strengthened the bail laws. We have given police greater powers to take on and tackle serious crime. We have brought in alcohol reforms that give local communities the option of having a tailored alcohol regulatory environment that tackles alcohol-related issues in their local communities.There has been just as much practical operational and even attitudinal change within the ministries. This National Government introduced Better Public Services or the BPS targets in 2012 for key public services that would make a real difference for all New Zealanders. In the justice sector the main agencies are the Ministry of Justice New Zealand Police and the Department of Corrections. They were all set ambitious targets for reducing the rates of total crime violent crime youth crime and reoffending by 2017.I am pleased to report that all of our initiatives however have been about reducing crime and improving front-line results and the results are very very good. I am pleased to report that our target for the reduction in overall crime was 15 percent by 2017 and as at December 2013 it was down by 14 percent. So we are well on the way to achieving that. As well as that the violent crime rate was down by a full 10 percent and overall reoffending was down by 11.7 percent.These are just a few of the measures that team justice under the John Key National administration has been able to bring about on behalf of all New Zealand in order to make New Zealand a better safer environment for all of us. We aim to continue to ensure that New Zealand is a safe environment for all our citizens. Under the very capable leadership of Judith Collins in the justice sector I think we are going to see an awful lot more of it. It is a key role of the Government to protect its citizens and in justice we have.Vote agreed to.