10. SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) Link to this
to the Minister of Justice
What advice, if any, did he give to the Prime Minister prior to her proposal to “give serious consideration” to allowing police to make a recall application for prison parolees who pose an undue risk to community safety, as outlined in her Prime Minister’s statement to Parliament on 13 February 2007?
Hon MARK BURTON (Minister of Justice) Link to this
That I agreed that serious consideration should be given to the proposal.
Did he advise the Prime Minister that section 73 of the Parole Act already allows any member of the police to arrest, without a warrant, any offenders he or she has reasonable grounds to believe either to be unlawfully at large or to have breached their parole conditions; if so, is not her announcement at the start of this year just a bit of a sham to make it look like the Government is doing something after the Graeme Burton tragedy?
I can assure the member that the Prime Minister is well aware of current provisions. The Prime Minister was indicating clearly a need to look at a wider potential provision. Further, I say to the member that I will enjoy his support and that of his party for the extensive further provisions in the extension of parole coverage and parole service that this Government has before the House in legislation at this time.
Does the Minister stand by the Prime Minister’s statement that the police are best placed to know whether an offender poses an undue risk to the safety of the public; if so, can he explain to the House and the public of New Zealand why section 73 of the Parole Act was not invoked at the time that police told the probation service that Graeme Burton was not living where he was supposed to be, that he had amassed a cache of weapons, and that “if Burton’s parole wasn’t revoked and he remained in the community that he would kill someone”?
The member knows that it would be irresponsible of me to comment on any specific case, particularly when it is under current investigation.
Has he seen the recent claim by the Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections, Barry Matthews, that he was not aware of any proposals to change the Parole Act, and why did he not consult with the department, which not only administers the probation service but also provides the funding for the administrative support to the Parole Board, or has he, like the rest of us, simply lost confidence in the department?
When the Prime Minister prefaced her statements to fix the Parole Act with phrases such as “give serious consideration to allowing the police to make a recall application”, and “it can be argued that the police should have the power to make an application for recall”, does that mean the Government will actually change the Parole Act, or will she continue to use woolly language to make it look as though the Government is going to do something when the provisions in the Parole Act make it clear it could have done something?
The Prime Minister was clearly indicating this Government’s willingness, as proven by numerous actions already, to further strengthen the provisions of the Parole Act. Further, the Government has before the House the Criminal Justice Reform Bill, which will further strengthen parole provisions. I look forward to that member’s party’s vote following his rhetoric.