22 May 2004
Hon Matt Robson MP, Progressive Deputy Leader
Speech: Graduation of Te Rakau Ote Ora programme
Sat 22 May 2004
Te Hokowhitu Atu Marae Keepa Road, Whakatane
Welcome onto marae 10.00am
Mihi
Thank you for inviting back to Whakatane where Te Rangiwaiora O Mataatua Trust have been among the pioneers of
restorative justice. It is not easy justice – it is quite hard to implement properly – but it is worth doing.
I congratulate Ronnie Stewart Ward and Te Rangiwaiora o Mataatua for the work they are doing.
I first experienced the work of the Trust first-hand at a Restorative Justice Training hui in 2002. Members of the Trust
together with New Zealand Restorative Justice Trust provided bicultural training for community volunteers.
The Trust provides for the health and social support of low income earners in the Mataatua region including the young
and the elderly. They deliver educational, court support and advisory services. Their educational programmes for youth
at risk are well known. Many of their workers putting in hours of voluntary work. Their service has much credibility
within the community for the innovative and culturally sound programmes they provide.
I witnessed a professionally run marae and trust organisation at the restorative justice training. The Trustees are
dependable and the management of the Trust is in the hands of the immensely-skilled Ronnie Stewart-Ward.
Today sees the graduation of participants in Te Rakau Ote Ora (tree of life.) programme. Participants are demonstrating
to us skills they have learnt including Taiaha, Waiata, Karakia, Kapa Haka, as well as preparing the hangi and feeding
the guests – and that is an important part of the day.
Objectives of Te Rakau Ote Ora programme include addressing harmful behaviour; addressing offending relevant to health;
building self esteem; encouraging team work; encouraging family support; instilling focus and discipline; learning
whakapapa and Marae protocol; learning cultural and tribal differences; learning to manage anger by learning how to
overcome aggressive and uncontrolled violent behaviour; assisting participants to achieve an alcohol and drug free
lifestyle; learning appropriate job seeking skills and how to access the same; and finally learning how to access
education and psychological services.
That is a tall order to accomplish within 70 hours of the course and I congratulate those involved.
Nationally, it has been an important week for restorative justice. On Thursday, Parliament completed the committee
stages of the Corrections Bill which will overhaul the legal framework of the post-Court justice system.
The Corrections Bill will be passed into law next week. As Minister of Corrections 2002 – 2005 I was responsible for
developing the policy which led to the Bill, and I am proud to see it through to completion.
One important change is that my party, Progressive, proposed that restorative justice processes should become a formal
part of the Corrections system.
Because we are in a coalition government with Labour and because our proposal was well-argued, it has been adopted.
Victim-centered restorative justice will be a part of all our prisons as well as being ever more widely used in
community-based sentences.
Restorative justice is now enshrined in four key pieces of legislation: the soon-to-be Corrections Act, the Sentencing
Act, the Parole Act and Victims Rights Act.
This graduation ceremony today is a tribute to restorative justice pioneers in the Whakatane area and demonstrates that
restorative justice is rapidly becoming a central part of the New Zealand justice system.
The Progressive party is pleased to be playing a role in this development. It is a pity that a local MP, Tony Ryall,
instead of supporting this positive development, voted against the Corrections Bill. His reason was that the Labour
Progressive government says that imprisonment is the duty of the state and is ending the one privately-run prison. Mr
Ryall seems to not understand that good people in the Corrections system can help former offenders rebuild their lives
within the law. He seems to think everyone who once made a mistake will continue to commit crimes for ever and a day – a
view not supported by the facts.
Sadly, one of our most important issues – the safety of our community – is to often reduced to simple slogans and simple
solutions in a shouting contest.
When the voice that says that it is “sensible” to concentrate on making prison sentences as long as possible wins the
shouting contest then the resources necessary to stem the tide of young people earning those long sentences will not be
not provided.
The voice that points out that the constant lengthening of prison sentences has not decreased offending finds it
difficult to compete in such a contest.
Consequently we get more victims, more prisons and our communities are less safe.
Of course some offenders need to be kept out of the community for long periods. In some cases they are never safe to
release back into the community. Of course prisons are part of the answer to criminal offending .Of course the prospect
of a prison sentence is a deterrent for some crime.
But common sense tells us that it can’t be the total answer or else the steadily lengthening prison sentences that have
been imposed would mean that we would have almost eliminated offending. And we haven’t.
That is because our prison population neatly mirrors our social and economic problems. The high proportion of Maori
imprisoned also means that we haven’t solved the issues of a colonized society.
It is in these areas that a sensible discussion on sentencing and the causes of offending will concentrate. We don’t
have to get mired in a semantic discussion on “race” as against “needs” based policies. Let us just concentrate on the
facts that our inmate population provide us with:
75% of inmates have no educational qualifications.
90% have a history of poor employment or no employment.
80% are from totally dysfunctional families
90% have a history of mental health problems
90% have a history of drug and alcohol abuse
The disaster list goes on and on. What we are looking at is the breeding ground for criminal offending. Short or long
sentences this is where offenders come from and largely go back to. And yet the demand is to concentrate resources in
the prisons.
And yes good work is done there. Programmes are in place to meet educational and employment needs. The Maori Focus Units
drawing on the skills and knowledge of Maori providers are an inspiration. The specialized drug programmes and sex
offender units work miracles. But the damage is deep at this stage and the results disheartening.
We know where the best results are. Let me use the example of HIPPY which stands for Home Intervention Programme for
Parents and Youngsters. HIPPY tutors go to children struggling with school and life and work along side them to build up
their skills and self-esteem. The tutors are low key and low budget. They come from the communities that they work in.
They involve the parents and caregivers. And lo and behold – many a “dysfunctional” parent is a community member
screaming for help. Many have overcome their own problems and have become tutors, developed self-esteem and gone on to
careers that they never dreamed they could have entered before HIPPY.
HIPPY recently launched a book entitled “We talk in our family now”. It is the story of twelve HIPPY tutors, some of
whom knew jail.
When I read the stories of the families on the HIPPY programme I cried and I smiled.
I cried for the anguish and torture of young people growing up in circumstances that many of us deny exist in New
Zealand and then their struggle to become partners and parents who can provide the love, nurture and guidance that all
of our children deserve and that they did not have.
The HIPPY tutors provide the social solidarity that has been missing. It is these parents, typified in the 12 stories
who are the heroes. But it is the HIPPY tutors working one to one with families to whom all of us I owe a debt of
gratitude.
That gratitude has to be shown by adequate resources from the state coming in behind the tutors and their programmes. If
ever proof was needed that victims can become actors and change their own lives the results of the HIPPY programme in
the stories of these 12 members of our communities who have become those actors through their own efforts and by linking
up with the HIPPY tutors, provide that proof.
And now to government the often missing actor. In 2001 as Minister of Corrections my Department reported to me on
proposals for Early Intervention.
The fact that the Department reported enthusiastically on early intervention with struggling families and communities as
the best way to reduce crime and imprisonment will come as no surprise to you here today. The Report was aptly named
About Time, a name that did not take me long to choose. I feel like one of those struggling authors hawking this report
around. The slowness of responding to this most obvious conclusion will also be of no surprise.
About Time’s foreword has the Minister saying: “ Prevention starts with our children. Some offenders imprisoned for the
first time are teenagers convicted of their first adult offence- although they may have an extensive history in the
youth justice system – these youth are identified as a group for whom imprisonment could be reduced. Once a teenager is
in prison their risk of re-conviction and reimprisonment quadruples. We know the earliest possible intervention works
best and cost the least. Working with a five year old to change aggressive and defiant behaviour is estimated to cost
$5000 and has a success rate of 70 percent; the same behaviour at age 20 costs $20,000 and has a success rate of only 20
percent.”
All commonsense really and well known to those involved with HIPPY. So what options were presented?
Option 1: Encourage high needs young women to delay childbearing. A sexual and productive health strategy for young
women and men in child protection, youth justice and adult justice
Option 2: Identify high needs births and support new mother and family by: Extending the scope of Family Start and
similar programmes; Screening at birth for risk; Supporting mother and close family
Option 3: Identify behavioural needs at school entry; Early Social learning Model. Screen at primary school entry;
Provide support to home and school
Option 4: Early detection and intensive rehabilitation of high-risk young offenders. Identify high-risk children and
teenage offenders early in youth offending career. Aggressive intervention against the key risk factors
Options 5 and 6: Early detection and intensive rehabilitation of high-risk teenage offenders.
So what has been done? From a recent cabinet committee report of which I can only give you snippets, (without risking
being sent to the Tower,) there has been substantial progress on the development of the initiatives to implement the 10
options; all of the options 1-10 in About Time are being progressed; and in particular Options 1-4 aimed at preventing
children progressing to early offending.
The point now is to match promises against the resourcing needs of such programmes as HIPPY.
So what will a sensible discussion on sentencing provide us with?
A focus on what works
A knowledge of the most effective early intervention policies and what resourcing is needed
An understanding of where prison sentences fit into protecting communities
An understanding of what re-integrative processes e.g. strengthening families, employment skills and opportunities ,
continuing drug programmes etc .are needed to ensure that offenders return to their communities and don’t reoffend
The role of restorative justice practices which are centred on the needs of victims
What support in general is needed for victims of offending.
If we concentrate on what works and listen to those who have expertise, then we can hold a sensible national discussion
on offending and sensible sentencing. And we will reach our goal of creating safer communities for all New Zealanders.
ENDS