Consultation on 5 bills: corrections, parole, firearms, gangs and courts remote participation

Tue 12 Mar 2024

The Justice Committee is inviting submissions on 5 different bills. The bills relate to Corrections, parole, gangs, firearms and remote court participation. There are various closing dates with the earliest closing date for submission on 19 March 2024.

black and white photograph of the beehive

Consultation on proposed legislation

The Justice Committee is a Parliamentary select committee. Select committees are small groups of MPs that look at Parliamentary business in detail. There are currently 11 members on the Justice Committee.

The Justice Committee is currently inviting submissions on 5 different bills:

Corrections Amendment Bill (consultation on the amendment paper only)
Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill
Courts (Remote Participation) Amendment Bill
Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill
Parole (Mandatory Completion of Rehabilitative Programmes) Amendment Bill

The closing dates are in March and April.

You can contact the Justice Committee by emailing ju@parliament.govt.nz.

Corrections Amendment Bill amendment paper

The Justice Committee is calling for submissions on Amendment Paper 17 related to the Corrections Amendment Bill.

The closing date for submissions is 19 March 2024.

The Corrections Amendment Bill was introduced in June 2023. The Justice Committee asked for submissions on the bill in July and August 2023. Some of the proposed changes relate to making programmes and services available to people on remand. For an overview of the bill's proposed changes related to family violence and sexual violence see our previous news story on the original call for submissions.

The Justice Committee is now asking for feedback on an Amendment Paper related to the Corrections Amendment Bill.

The explanatory note for the Amendment Paper 17 states that

"The Amendment Paper provides for a new framework to enable rehabilitative programmes to also be delivered to prisoners in custody awaiting sentence. Further, it enables the provision of non-offence-based programmes to all prisoners and persons being managed by the Department of Corrections in the community." (emphasis added)

Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell said:

"This will strengthen the requirement for Corrections to provide all remand convicted prisoners with offence-based rehabilitation, including rehabilitation programmes targeted towards violent and sexual offenders. Nearly 1,400 prisoners could benefit at any one time." (emphasis added)

The Beehive media release notes:

"Remand accused prisoners are in prison awaiting trial and have not yet been convicted. They must be treated as innocent until proven guilty.
Remand convicted prisoners have been convicted and are in prison awaiting sentencing."

Note that Amendment papers were previously called Supplementary Order Papers.

Update: This consultation and the Corrections Amendment Bill are different than the Corrections (Victim Protection) Amendment Bill. The Corrections (Victim Protection) Amendment Bill is a Member's Bill that was introduced on 1 February 2024. This bill would create an obligation on the Chief Executive and on prison managers to protect those who are subject to a protection order and victims of crime from contact from prisoners. Consultation is open on the Corrections (Victim Protection) Amendment Bill. Submissions close on 6 May 2024.

Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill

The Justice Committee is calling for submissions on the Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill.

The closing date for submissions is 5 April 2024.

The Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill is an omnibus bill that would "...implement a single broad policy to improve public confidence in law and order through creating new offences and Police powers targeting gangs."

The legislation proposes to:

create a new criminal offence to prohibit the display of gang insignia in public places
create a new power to stop gang members gathering in public, which would require specified people to leave an area and not associate in public for 7 days
create a new non-consorting order to stop specified gang offenders from consorting, which would require specified people not to associate or communicate with each other for 3 years
make gang membership an aggravating factor at sentencing.

The Attorney-General has submitted a report under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 on the Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill. The submission webpage for the bill notes that the Attorney-General's report raises concerns that aspects of the bill are inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, including the prohibition on the display of gang insignia in public places and the proposed power to issue dispersal notices.

Related research

Toward an understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand’s adult gang environment: A report from the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Kaitohutohu Mātanga Pūtaiao Matua ki te Pirimia (2023) explores the evidence of the harms done by, to, and within gang communities. The authors of the report are Emma Brown, Juliet Gerrard, Ian Lambie and Tracey McIntosh. Find media articles including interviews with the authors from the Office of the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor website.

Courts (Remote Participation) Amendment Bill

The Justice Committee is calling for submissions on the Courts (Remote Participation) Amendment Bill.

The closing date for submissions is 5 April 2024.

The purpose of the Courts (Remote Participation) Amendment Bill is to increase remote participation in court proceedings.

The bill's explanatory note outlines the 3 changes the bill would make:

"creating a presumption that victims can remotely observe criminal trials and sentencing where appropriate"
"allowing use of audio links for remote court proceedings"
"clarifying the interrelationship between virtual participation and open justice."

Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill

The Justice Committee is calling for submissions on the Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill.

The closing date for submissions is 5 April 2024.

Firearms prohibition orders (FPO) are intended to prevent people from having access to firearms if they have been sentenced and convicted of a serious crime, including murder, serious assault, sexual violence, and some family violence offences. Firearms prohibition orders were established through the Firearms Prohibition Legislation Act which came into force in November 2022.

The Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill is an omnibus bill that would make changes to firearms prohibition orders by amending several acts.

The explanatory note for the bill outlines 3 proposed changes:

extending the group of people that FPOs can be made against to include "...a person aged 18 years or over who is a member or an associate of a gang or an organised criminal group who has been convicted of an offence under the Arms Act 1983, Crimes Act 1961, Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, or Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 that is punishable by a term of imprisonment of 1 year or more."
establishing a new review process to allow a person to apply to have their FPO varied, modified, or revoked
amending "...the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 to introduce a new “without cause” search power that enables the New Zealand Police (the Police) to conduct searches in respect of a person who the Police suspects, on reasonable grounds, is subject to an FPO."

For more information on FPOs see the update on our previous news story on the initial legislation to establish FPOs.

Parole (Mandatory Completion of Rehabilitative Programmes) Amendment Bill

The Justice Committee is calling for submissions on the Parole (Mandatory Completion of Rehabilitative Programmes) Amendment Bill.

The closing date for submissions is 16 April 2024.

The Parole (Mandatory Completion of Rehabilitative Programmes) Amendment Bill is a Member's bill from MP Todd Stephenson. This bill would require people in a corrections facility to complete skills and rehabilitation programmes before they can be considered eligible for parole.

Firearms Minister accused of misleading public on gun stats, RNZ, 08.04.2024

Public submissions on proposed anti-gang laws are about to close: What you need to know, RNZ, 04.04.2024

We’ve lost sight of what remand is for, Newsroom, 19.03.2024

'No new guns': Luxon's promise ahead of gun law reform, RNZ, 16.03.2024

‘No evidence’ it will work, risks making gang problem worse: Officials’ scathing analysis of Government proposals, NZ Herald, 13.03.2024

‘It’s alarming’: Imam to tell PM of fears about firearms law changes, Newsroom, 11.03.2024

Gang patch ban inconsistent with Bill of Rights but passes first reading with Labour support, NZ Herald, 07.03.2024

Changes to NZ’s parole laws to improve rehabilitation could lead to even longer prison times, The Conversation, 07.03.2024

Gang patch ban pushing ahead against advice of officials and experts warn it could backfire, RNZ, 07.03.2024 (also see the RNZ Morning Report Justice officials warn of harm over gang crackdown)

Ignoring causes of gang criminality shows lack of interest in real solutions, The Press, 07.03.2024

Govt pushes to improve access to rehab for remand prisoners, RNZ, 03.03.2024

Government amending Corrections Act to ensure rehabilitation support access for remand prisoners, NZ Herald, 03.03.2024