Law & Order Forum
National are about to wrap up their law & order forum. No major policy announcements, but a couple of minor ones. The main speech was from Simon Power and the key points were:
- Fairness is National’s main aim for the criminal justice system, and what people currently don’t get
- Violent crimes incidence has increased 44% since Labour took office
- Labour have blamed violent crime on the the 1991 Budget, the sun and the moon and the latest “blame” is on urban design
- Helen Clark this year promised a victims’ charter – as she also promised in 1994!
- Summarised policy announced to date including increased penalties for gang members, wider use of DNA testing, on-the-spot protection orders, Tasers, reverse Labour’s bail law changes, extend Youth Court to 12 and 13 year olds, and allow private management of prisons (was massively successful last time)
- Announced National would abolish Labour’s Sentencing Council and redirect the $5.8 million saved into a fund for victims of crime. Says the Council’s role is to reduce the nominal length of prison sentences by 25% and that no need for a lawyer of bureaucracy between Parliament and Judges.
- Also will abolish the Criminal Justice Advisory Board and redirect that $250,000 also to victims of crime.
They then had a forum afterwards with Power, Chester Borrows, Kate Wilkinson and Chris Finlayson. It started off somewhat farcically with Simon Power asking questions to his associates. I joked to a journalist that having the Spokesperson interview his associates is hardly going to result in probing questions! But to be fair Simon managed it with humour and after an initial round of questions, they had delegates ask any questions they want. Confirmed National will keep the SFO if it is not abolished by the election.
No TweetBacks yet. (Be the first to Tweet this post)
Tags: law & order, National, Simon Power
August 2nd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
The way the debate has been defined by the Left, of course no-one among the Nats, will dare to raise the connection between kids brought up in dysfunctional fatherless homes, and crime………leave that, as usual, to the ACT Party, the only party with the guts to say it as it is…….
August 2nd, 2008 at 1:41 pm
A victims charter? – I think Helen has been too busy trying to find dirt on John Key to bother with anything as petty as that….
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:25 pm
The policy wins my approval especially getting rid of Palmer’s sentencing council and providing the funding to victims. Now they need to address the Judicial process itself. This Dixon character having just been found guilty for the second time after a six week second trial now having his enormously enriched legal aid lawyer preparing another appeal being a classic example.
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:52 pm
“Violent crimes incidence has increased 44% since Labour took office ”
DPF: I’ve hauled you over the coals for this nonsense statistic before. I simply can’t believe that you’re reproducing it out of ignorance.
So this “upward trend” in crime is meaningless because it’s unsupportable using other measurements, and is explained away as being due to changes in policing practices.
http://www.police.govt.nz/resources/2006/axist/understanding-crime-statistics-movement.pdf
August 2nd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
“..# PhilBest (2080) Add karma Subtract karma +0 Says:
August 2nd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
The way the debate has been defined by the Left, of course no-one among the Nats, will dare to raise the connection between kids brought up in dysfunctional fatherless homes, and crime………leave that, as usual, to the ACT Party, the only party with the guts to say it as it is…….”
these are the people who issue pious platitudes/admonitions about absent fathers on the one hand..
and on the other hand..they advocate ripping away the state support given to the (mainly..but not only) women..
..who are raising those children on their own..
..you have to wonder if their pious platitudes are more..mendacious nastiness..
phil(whoar.co.nz)
August 2nd, 2008 at 6:40 pm
pat pat – he keep believing that roger.
August 2nd, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Phul
I would gladly be the one who “rips away” your state support, and yes I would also take it off others.
You cannot have a system that lets people like you chose to sit on your arse while the rest of us pay for it.
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:45 pm
and what should happen to the children..?
..in your little dystopia..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:48 pm
and big bruv..did you steal your ‘name’ from big bro..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
August 2nd, 2008 at 10:36 pm
In reply to your post @ 8.45pm phil, take the kids off fucktards like you and place them in homes where they have a positive role model.
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:47 am
And was there any mention of miscarriages of justice and how to rectify them? Or does National consider them an inconvenient by-product of the justice system?