5. Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) Link to this
to the Minister for Courts
What advice has she received about the collection of levies that would be required by the Sentencing (Offender Levy) Amendment Bill from those officials in the Ministry of Justice who report to her?
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (Minister for Courts) Link to this
In late January I was briefed by officials on the offender levy: what it was for, who was going to pay it, how much money it would collect, and proposed administrative arrangements for collection of the levy. I have also received documentation about the funding for the operation of the levy, but this is Budget sensitive and the member will have to wait until the Budget.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
Is she aware of advice from the Ministry of Justice as contained in the document Structure of Operations in the Ministry: Proposals for Consultation that people who owe the offender levy will be grouped based on their “willingness and ability to pay and their attitude towards compliance”; and does this mean that the Government is prepared to tolerate targeting only those most likely to pay while hard-core fine defaulters are let off the hook?
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU Link to this
No, not at all. The Government’s approach is that every offender who owes the levy, fines, or reparation will be held responsible for the payment of those. Anything else that the member has inferred is not going to happen, because this Government is serious about collecting those fines. I will be introducing into the House pretty soon a courts and criminal matters bill that will address some of the matters around enforcement. But I stress once again that no offender who owes fines will be allowed to get away with not being responsible for them.
Shane ArdernHon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU Link to this
A very good question. I have seen three reports. In Labour’s 1996 election campaign policy, the party promised to investigate the establishment of a separate criminal injuries compensation scheme. In Labour’s 2005 election campaign policy, it said it would “inquire into the level of immediate financial support available to victims or families of victims of serious crime, especially homicide, and examine options for providing improved support”. Again, in February 2008, in the Prime Minister’s opening statement to the House she said that Labour would look into a victims’ compensation scheme. We are a Government of action. We have taken less than 100 days to do something that Labour thought about for over 13 years.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
How does she reconcile her answer to my previous supplementary question, in which she said that all those owing their levies would pay, with the statement from the Minister of Justice—who also advocated a levy collection system that selectively targets some offenders over others based on how easy it will be to recover the money from them—who stated, in a Cabinet paper of 26 January 2009, that enforcement actions, such as seizure of property or bringing the defendant before the court, will be used for some offenders but not for others because the cost of those enforcement actions “would be greater than the levy amount, rendering it uneconomic to pursue.”?
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU Link to this
I can easily reconcile them. Where a person owes only the offender levy, enforcement actions will be limited to court-ordered deductions from wages, a benefit, or a bank account. That keeps overall enforcement costs from becoming greater than the value of the outstanding levy and recognises that the levy is not a fine. We will be endeavouring to collect payment on the levy, although that will take second place to reparations. As I said, this Government is serious about addressing the concerns of victims. The party opposite thought about the matter for over 13 years and did nothing about it.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
Given that the Minister has not reconciled the two answers, are we now going to have two classes of victims: a first class of victims where offenders are pursued and compelled to pay their levy because of their “willingness and ability to pay”, and a second class of victims where offenders make life difficult and are therefore let off the hook by this Government?
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU Link to this
That is rubbish. Nobody will be let off responsibility for paying a levy, fines, or reparation. No one will get away without paying the fines or reparation that he or she owes. Everyone will have to deal with his or her fines, reparation, or levy. One way or another people will be held responsible for what they owe. Those who decide not to pay will feel the full force of the law, and quickly. Every day, action is being taken to enforce payment by taking money out of wages, benefits, or directly from bank accounts, by seizing and selling assets, by clamping vehicles, by arresting offenders—
Mr SPEAKER