Darroch Ball MP
Spokesperson for Social Development
21 SEPTEMBER 2015
Child Sex Offender Register Destined to Fail
The National government’s child sex offender register is window dressing, a one-off half measure to dilute concerns over
child safety, says New Zealand First.
“The register will cost $150 million but National is funding only half this cost, expecting Police, Corrections and
Justice to make it work out of their existing budgets,” says New Zealand First Spokesperson for Social Development
Darroch Ball.
“Police and Corrections are already under financial strain.
“To be told they must make ‘efficiency gains by more effective utilisation of existing staff’ is just a government
directive to make cuts in other operations.
“This is a recipe for disaster and puts more stress on government services.
“We believe a register is essential for protection of children from recidivist sex offenders but it will only be
successful when fully funded and we call on the government to do this,” says Mr Ball.
“New Zealand First has a member’s bill currently in the ballot that proposes the removal of name suppression from
paedophiles where the victim or victims have not requested it or are asking for name suppression to be removed.
“If the government is serious about protecting our children from sex offenders not only should they fully fund the
register they should put real support behind our members bill.”
ENDS