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JUSTICE
INTRODUCTION:
The foundation of New Zealand First's justice policy is based on the dual premises that we must adhere to the rule of law and that all New Zealanders must be equal before the law.
New Zealand First strongly believes that the principles of freedom and rights of New Zealanders are protected and enhanced by a justice system which provides easy access to the courts, the unbiased and efficient delivery of justice to all New Zealanders, and the protection of all New Zealanders from oppression.
The New Zealand system of justice is based on the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, Habeas Corpus, Trial by Jury and the English Common Law and enhanced by the development of Statute law for the benefit of all New Zealanders.
New Zealand First is determined to ensure that the New Zealand justice system can provide these rights to the public of New Zealand.
JUSTICE AND LAW REFORM
The cornerstone of New Zealand First's justice and law reform policy is to enhance the public confidence in the judicial system, and to ensure that the system reflects principles of openness, accountability, independence, and integrity. New Zealand First also has some concern at the disposition of this current government to make significant constitutional change with little or no reference to the people.
PLANS
New Zealand First will:
- ensure that all issues of moral and social import such as prostitution, civil unions, and constitutional issues, cannot be changed except by way of referendum;
- reduce the cost of all court fees to as close as possible to pre-2001 levels in real terms;
- ensure that all persons are treated equally before the law and that no privileges will be granted to any sector of the community arising from their race, culture, or any other reason;
- review family legislation with a view to simplifying the provisions of the Care of Children Act and establishing a Protection of Families Act which will incorporate the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and the Care of Children Act 2004 with a view to giving the Family court more flexibility in dealing with family violence situations and removing the rigidity which exists in the current system, a rigidity which results in the more difficult family break-ups becoming extreme situations; and even fatal;
- provide the resources necessary to ensure that High Court jury trials are conducted without undue delay;
- conduct a review of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and the Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004 and ensure adequate resources for the judiciary;
- retain the system of Depositions Hearings as a Preliminary Hearing before trials in criminal cases;
- review the system of land ownership by way of cross-lease title to make it easier for existing owners of cross-lease titles to have clearer title to their property;
- continue to promote an independent judicial commission to recommend the appointment of judges, oversee the administration of the courts, provide training for judges, and process and report on complaints; and,
- require that any future major constitutional change occurs only following a positive referendum.
SENTENCING
PLANS
New Zealand First will:
- restrict eligibility for, and strengthen supervision of, home detention;
- allow that the accused can be re-tried for the original crime where there is clear evidence that an acquittal or change to a lesser offence has resulted from intimidation, perjury, or bribery of a victim, witness, and/or juror. These offences will be elevated to the status of a most serious crime and will carry an automatic sentencing upon conviction, of a minimum 10-year sentence without any form of remission. Similarly, new evidence will be treated on the same basis;
- remove concurrent sentences for those guilty of serious crime and for those who commit offences while on parole, on bail, or whilst in custody;
- strengthen monitoring requirements in relation to community-based sentences;
- support the full implementation of a Sentencing Council charged with providing guidelines for consistent sentencing;
- review the adequacy of maximum sentences for serious criminal offences;
- investigate the implementation of a degrees of murder sentencing regime, for the most repugnant and abhorrent of violent crime;
- deter recidivist offending by introducing the principle of 'three strikes and you're out'. This will mean that offenders convicted for three crimes for which they have been sentenced to any period of community service, or incarceration in a prison or correction centre, will be required to serve a substantial minimum period in prison;
- increase the use of mandatory minimum sentences for violent offenders with no automatic rights to sentence reduction;
- replace the Parole Board with a Rehabilitation Board with a primary objective of minimising recidivism. The Board will be required to consider the actual duration of imprisonment and to ensure a serious violent offender has demonstrated remorse and a positive attitude to rehabilitation, before considering any parole;
- require that, upon conviction for a serious and/or violent crime non-New Zealand citizens will be repatriated; and,
- provide the legislative framework to ensure that fines are collected and reparations made.
VICTIMS' RIGHTS AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
Victims of crime must not become the forgotten people in our criminal justice system. At present there is a lack of coherent and organised delivery of victim support services in the overall government response to crime.
PLANS
New Zealand First will:
- establish a group within the Ministry of Justice to oversee the effective co-ordination, funding and delivery of victim support services by various agencies through every phase of the criminal justice system;
- give the new unit responsibility for raising public awareness of the availability of victim support services;
- ensure that victim support groups receive adequate funding which reflects both the demand for and quality of the services they provide;
- make certain victims of crime will be given a permanent representative on the Rehabilitation Board;
- not support convicted criminals being able to profit from their crime through compensation payment;
- ensure that families of victims will have mandatory rights to full information on rehabilitation hearings, to appear in person, to have an advocate, or to make written submissions;
- require disclosure of criminal history of violent offenders released on home detention or parole;
- support amendments to the law so that victims of offenders sentenced to psychiatric hospitals will be told when the offender is discharged from hospital, and introduce the legal test of 'guilty but insane';
- also ensure that offenders are made accountable for their actions to the victims of their crimes, and that they are made to pay for the emotional and physical damage they cause;
- enhance the use of reparation orders by requiring courts to give them preference over fines;
- help ensure victims receive court ordered reparations (deductions from income or benefits may be ordered as appropriate);
- expand the use of reparation orders beyond the current focus on property crimes;
- introduce a regime of fixed-term sentencing for specified crimes where the degree of involvement or other claimed contributory factors will be given no regard; and,
- pilot a system whereby those convicted of serious crimes will be offered remission in exchange for completing their time to be served under a regime of hard labour.
YOUTH JUSTICE
New Zealand First believes that a priority for reducing youth crime is ensuring that all young people are engaged in full time employment. Unemployment means that this group in particular, do not have the finances to participate fully in society, have little or no self esteem and too much time on their hands. A person's occupation is largely the basis of their standing in our community.
Young people (and their parents) will be made more accountable to the community for their crimes. New Zealand First will focus on entry level crime to put a stop to young people entering a life of crime.
PLANS
New Zealand First will:
- provide a policy and legislation framework that requires greater parental responsibility for young offenders;
- ensure that young recidivist offenders are able to be dealt with by an expanded and reconstituted Youth Court;
- provide improved guidelines to the Youth Court on the treatment of young recidivist offenders;
- retain Family Group Conferences (FGC) for those who choose to offend under the age of 12 years but even then, any offender under the age of 12 years will be entitled to be dealt with under this provision only three times and should they choose to offend again, will be dealt with by the adult criminal courts;
- ensure that parents of those children subject to the FGC process are tasked with completing appropriate parent training;
- provide the Youth Court with guidelines as to when anonymity of proceedings should be removed to reinforce the offender's accountability to the community;
- provide police with the powers and resources to address truant behaviour and prevent it from escalating into habitual truancy, which itself almost guarantees the truant's involvement in the youth justice system and a graduation into serious crime;
- ban the sale of violent or sexually explicit video games to minors;
- introduce stricter controls on the ratings of, and restrictions to the access to violent or sexually explicit videos;
- oppose all efforts to legalise cannabis and any other form of illicit drugs;
- raise the drinking age;
- make it clear that violent young offenders should indeed be treated differently from non-violent offenders through special 'secure training order' sentences involving supervised control and intensive rehabilitation, and other secure and military-type training options; and,
- extend the range of offences for which youths are automatically subject to adult processes, e.g. attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, and serious repeat offending.
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