Labour’s new justice spokeswoman, Camilla Belich, is criticising the coalition Government’s “bumper stickers” crime policies and for prioritising “soundbites” over substance but has stopped short of committing to repeal two of the laws her party finds most problematic.
Belich said the party still needed to “have further discussions” about its justice policies and she would not commit to scrapping the coalition’s Three Strikes legislation or recently introduced move-on orders that allowed police to require people, including rough sleepers, to leave an area.
Labour has long opposed the Three Strikes legislation that forced judges to give the maximum sentence to criminals who had committed three serious sex, violence or drug offences over their lifetime.
Labour repealed the law in 2022 after it was introduced by the prior National-led Government.
Labour and its leader Chris Hipkins have faced criticism for its lack of policies ahead of the election and while Belich was unable to even commit to repealing Three Strikes, she provided a hint.
“Our policy hasn’t been announced yet; I would be very surprised if that was a law that we continued to support.”
Labour leader Chris Hipkins at a previous stand up in Auckland. Photo / Anna Heath
Hipkins’ argument for his party’s few policies was that he was waiting to see the Government’s books, with the release of this week’s Budget, before making further announcements.
In an interview with Law News, Belich said the coalition Government was releasing crime policies that “are kind of bumper stickers or look like they’re tough on crime but don’t go towards solving the issue”.
“We’re not interested in laws that are just put in place in order to get votes and sound tough on crime,” she said.
“Our approach is making sure that if we do make changes, they are actually changes that are going to solve an established problem, that make sense and don’t just seem like good soundbites.”
Belich said tikanga (Māori customs) should also be incorporated into common law. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said in September last year this risked making New Zealand’s justice system “bespoke” and the coalition would be “absolutely prepared” to legislate over the top of these judgments if it needed to in order to provide more clarity.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith (from left) with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Photo / Jason Dorday
Speaking to media on Tuesday, Goldsmith said no decision had been made. In response to Belich’s criticism of the coalition’s crime policies, Goldsmith said Belich appeared to be focused on the needs of the “worst repeat and violent offenders” in her opposition to Three Strikes, “which is bizarre to me”.
“Finally, we have some indication of their approach to justice,” he said.
“And it seems to be that they are focused on the needs of the worst repeat and violent offenders by repealing Three Strikes which is bizarre to me. I think we should be focused on the needs of the victims.”
In a high-profile sentencing under the Three Strikes law in 2018, 45-year-old Daniel Clinton Fitzgerald faced seven years in prison without parole after being convicted of trying to kiss a woman on Wellington’s Cuba St without permission.
The Supreme Court overturned his sentence and he was later awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation when the High Court gave him a much shorter sentence.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
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