7. SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) Link to this
to the Minister of Justice
Can she confirm that violent crime has increased by 32 percent since 1999-2000; if so, why?
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Justice) Link to this
Violent crime in New Zealand, as in other countries, has been increasing year on year for a number of years. Since 1999-2000 the increase in recorded violent offences per head of population has been around 2.7 percent on average each year. However, the rate of the most violent offence, of murder, has remained relatively constant, although I do note that in 2006 there were 49 murders, and this compares very favourably with 1997 when there were 66 murders. A large driver of recorded violence has been the increased recording of domestic violent offences. For example, between 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 domestic violent offences increased by 11.2 percent while non-domestic violent offences increased by 0.6 percent.
Does she agree that gangs are a major source of violent crime; if so, why has she not produced the organised crime strategy that the Prime Minister said last May would be completed ahead of schedule, following the drive-by gang shooting of Wanganui toddler Jhia Te Tua?
It is well known that gangs and organised crime in New Zealand are a large cause of violence in our country. I ask the member to hold his horses. Not only will there be a strategy but the Organised Crime Agency and the work that has been done on that is very near to completion.
Martin GallagherThe Government does expect to see an increase in recorded violent offences, and that is because of the strong drive we have to ensure that as many people who are victims of domestic violence report those crimes. What we have seen in the last decade has been a doubling of the number of reported domestic violence crimes. That has to be applauded and welcomed if we are ever to get to the bottom of dreadful crimes carried out in people’s own homes.
Can the Minister confirm that her predecessor Mark Burton stated on 2 July 2007 that the organised crime strategy was “to be completed in the last quarter of 2007”, and that the Prime Minister stated on 6 August 2007 that the strategy would be released in the “not too distant future”, and can she confirm her own statement on 11 September 2007 that the strategy was due to be completed in October 2007?
What the Government has decided to do is to release all the decisions around organised crime—including the Organised Crime Agency, the power that that agency will have, the strategy, and the legislation—at the same time.
Can the Minister confirm the statement made by the Prime Minister on 7 May with regard to the Government’s policy on combating gangs: “No one has been idle here … people have been very proactive”, and how does she reconcile this with a 2004 document from her office that states: “The crime reduction joint ministers’ group have agreed that a new organised crime strategy is a priority for 2004.”?
Yes, I can confirm that nobody has been idle. A lot of work has been done not just on a strategy and an Organised Crime Agency but actually out on the street. Let us start with the additional police resource that has been put into the New Zealand community because of the agreement between New Zealand First and the Labour-led Government. That has led to, and will lead to, at the end of the day, 1,250 additional police staff out there working against crime in New Zealand. It is not just a matter of writing a strategy; it is a matter of making sure it works and putting the resources behind it. The National Party had 9 years to do it, but it never did it and never recognised it. I am pleased that this Government has done so.
Why should the public believe that the Government takes gangs and violent crime seriously when the most recent report on this issue prior to the tragic shooting of Jhia Te Tua in May last year was a document from March 2005, before the last election, titled A Stocktake on What is Known About Organised Crime in New Zealand?
The people of New Zealand will take what this Government does seriously, because one thing we are not is slippery on the topic. We do not say one thing one day and change it the next, and members of the public will see the work that has been done in relation to organised crime. They also see the results on the street. In terms of the work that has been done there are more police on the street and more people working in a coordinated way on crime reduction. When we look at the overall crime rate in New Zealand, we see that it is actually decreasing, not increasing as the National Party would have New Zealand believe.
Does the Minister concede that her failure to produce more details in October last year, as promised on 11 September, regarding the new Organised Crime Agency she has mentioned today has created a 5-month hiatus that is sucking the confidence out of the Serious Fraud Office, as experienced staff leave in droves; and is it not the truth that the announcement of the Organised Crime Agency in a half-baked state was to distract attention from the return on the same day of the then Minister of Corrections from his rugby trip?
Ron MarkWhy does the Government not accept New Zealand First’s view—a view now clearly shared by Australians, with legislation now enacted in Australia—that gangs are domestic terrorists and that, just like terrorists, they ought to be banned; and does the Government not understand that by not accepting that fact it is sending the message to the community that by its acceptance of the existence of gangs and its allowing them to exist, it is in fact condoning their existence; and is that not one of the things contributing to increases in crime and violent crime in this country?
This Government does not condone organised crime and gangs in New Zealand. But we know that just banning something does not mean it will not exist in some other form. We have to have an approach that deals with it on many different fronts, and that is what this Government is doing. I have already outlined some of those in the House today.