Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has left the door open to introducing more mandatory or minimum sentences for crimes — as he defended the latest suite of policies from the Government’s law and order crackdown.
The minister said the four announcements made this week – including new coward punch laws, increased penalties for assaults on first responders, fines for shoplifting, and trespass law changes — sent “a very clear and consistent message.”
Goldsmith, a senior National MP, sat down with Q+A for a wide-ranging interview this morning, across his ministerial portfolios.
He was pressed about the Government’s capping of sentencing discounts at 40%. The change was predicated on the notion some sentences had been given out with too much leniance under the previous government on the basis of mitigating factors.
Speaking to Q+A, the Justice Minister was then asked asked why he hadn’t gone further and culled sentence discounts entirely.
“Well, a lot of people have argued for that. You get a very different view if you go to a public meeting in Papatoetoe on this issue, and they say we’re too soft at 40%.
“Ultimately how we’ve operated in New Zealand is that we’ve had maximum sentences for offences and then judicial discretion under that. And what we’re doing by this is just tightening that discretion.
“Parliament is sending a message to the judiciary, we want tougher consequences.
“Now, there is an alternative where we could say you’re going to have mandatory sentences or minimum sentences, and that’s all a possibility.
“We haven’t taken that step yet, but we could in the future,” he said.
The Government’s changes to cap sentence discounts affect when judges are considering mitigating factors, except when it would result in “manifestly unjust” sentencing outcomes.
“We settled on 40%. And that gives judges a measure of discretion, but not massive discretion,” Goldsmith said.
Examples of mandated sentences include within the Government’s newly-reintroduced Three Strikes regime, but which are otherwise rarer in New Zealand’s judicial context.
As a result of NZ First’s coalition agreement, the Government also agreed to investigate the introduction and implementation of degrees of murder sentencing legislation.
Minister pressed for evidence deterrence works
Goldsmith was pressed for the evidence behind whether the Government’s changes to cap sentence discounts and increase penalties for assaults on first responders would work to disincentive them from happening.
The Justice Minister responded, “there’s a long-running debate about deterrence.
“The starting point is if you want to reduce the number of victims, you’ve got to deal with that very small group of New Zealanders that create the most victims, and that’s why tougher sentences for them are important.”
Asked again for evidence behind the policy, he added, “well, the evidence is that if you’re in jail, you can’t create a new victim, because you’re in jail.
“And so that’s the clear message that we want to send.”
Earlier this week, Green MP Tamatha Paul said the new anti-shoplifting policies were “criminalising people who have to resort to stealing to feed themselves”. Goldsmith, who ridiculed the criticism earlier this week, was quizzed on his position in the Q+A interview.
The Justice Minister was also challenged about comparisons to other countries that had introduced similar policies to those announced this week, yet still faced high crime rates.
In his Q+A interview, the minister was also asked about his media portfolio, which he took on a year ago, promising “immediate action” to support the sector.
Watch the full interview in the video above
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
