Mark Ron: Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Bill — In Committee Procedure Third Reading 
Mark Ron: Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Bill — In Committee Procedure Third Reading 
[Volume:626;Page:21007] 
RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 In debating clause 1 and clause 2 the title and the commencement clauses it actually causes one to reflect back on the content of this debate as to what one may appropriately title this bill which is soon to become an Act. A couple of thoughts spring to mind. One of them based on the evidence that has been produced by the Opposition parties is that we could name this legislation the “Prisoners’ Rights Bill”. The reason is that this legislation gives prisoners convicts and inmates the right to access money—taxpayers’ money. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: They get that right now. 
RON MARK 
: I tell the Minister that we could solve the problem by removing that right in its entirety if we followed the recommendations of New Zealand First. The Minister interjected and said that prisoners have the right to taxpayers’ money now. I tell him that that is precisely the problem and that this bill does not change that right. 
It would have been very easy to resolve that issue. This Government had it listened to New Zealand First could have produced a bill that simply stated that inmates who are abused by prison officers—by the Department of Corrections—have the right to have charges laid and heard. Inmates should have the right to see the officer who abused them prosecuted convicted and jailed alongside them in the same cell but that does not give them the right to receive compensatory payouts. The rationale is quite simple from where New Zealand First sits. If the original victim of the crime that saw the inmate put in jail is not entitled to compensation why the hell should the inmate be entitled to compensation when he or she is offended against? It is a simple case of basic logic a logic that seems not to exist in the Government ranks. Yes it is wrong to beat and bash an inmate. The report into the “goon squad” a report that the Government fought so long not to have highlights many examples of inmates being abused by the Government’s own Department of Corrections and abused in the knowledge that that was going on. It is not appropriate for inmates to be so abused in a civilised society but it is appropriate to charge the people who do that—and it is appropriate to convict those people and to imprison them. That is where the matter should end. We do not need to have a prisoners’ rights Act that guarantees prisoners will get their money. 
Maybe the title of the bill could be the “Victims’ Wrongs Act” because the greatest wrong here is that victims nationwide will not get all the money. Again that is what New Zealand First said should occur. Well if the Government is to still pay out the money and make some of it available to the victims of the original crime why not go to the next step and put all the money in trust give the inmate nothing—not one red cent—and make all that money available to all victims? But no the Government does not want to listen; it knows better than us. 
Maybe we could call this bill the “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee United Party Bill” because United Future has only just realised how it can be used and abused by this Government. I commend Marc Alexander because it is his work that has got United Future finally to say no to this bill. But I say to Marc Alexander that in the absence of a solid coalition agreement the Government can do to him exactly what it has just done. It is saying to him: “Thank you very much for voting for supply and confidence yesterday. Thank you for keeping us all in our Cabinet chairs with our big fat salaries and thank you— 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Clem Simich) 
: Order! 
RON MARK 
: I am saying to Marc Alexander that the Government is saying to him: “Thank you for that but now we’re going to go to the Greens and do precisely what you Marc Alexander do not want us the Government to do.” 
The bottom line is that United Future has been done over like a dog’s dinner. If it survives and comes back to Parliament after the election I would hope that it will not only have a new leader but seriously be very much wiser. Regrettably Marc Alexander will not be here yet he is the member who has done the most work for United Future. The “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee United Party Bill” would be an apt description right now. But sadly this bill will probably go down as the “Slap in the Face for the Taxpayer Bill”.