Dr Pita Sharples - Time Is Right For Reform
te-pati-maori
Wed Jul 25 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Dr Pita Sharples - Time Is Right For Reform
Wednesday, 25 July 2007, 9:43 am
Speech: The Maori Party
Te Pire Kaunihera Whakatau Whiu; Te Pire Utu Here; Te Pire Amenamana Whiu; Te Pire Tuku Whakamātau; Te Pire Tono a ngā Mauherehere, Marurenga
Te Pānuitanga Tuatorua, Dr Pita Sharples, Kaiarahi Tuatahi Ōrite o te Pāti Māori
Te Tūrei 24 Hōngongoi 2007
Tena koe
Kua tau mārika te wā kia tirohia ngā huringa o te punaha ture taihara.
Hei tērā wiki, hei tēnei wā tonu ka kati ngā tāpaetanga mō tētehi arotakenga whānui i ngā kaupapa here mā Aotearoa whānui.
The time is absolutely right for looking at the reform of the criminal justice system.
This time next week submissions close on a wide scale review of the policing directions for New Zealand.
Ko tā te Komihana mō ngā Tamariki, i a ia e whakahē ana i tā Aotearoa Tuatahi Pire tērā e whakawākia ai e ngā Kōti ngā tamariki i te wā e tino tamariki ana te hunga taiohi, kia āta tautohetohetia ngā take e pā ana ki Te Whai Ture mō ngā Rangatahi.
The Children’s Commissioner, in speaking to her opposition of NZ First’s Bill to prosecute younger and younger children before the Courts, has called for a debate on youth justice.
Kua whakautua e Te Komiti Uiui mō ngā Take Māori tā Te Pāti Māori kia kōkiritia te rangahau e pā ana ki ngā kaupapa katoa e hāngai ana ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ā, e whiriwhiri ana taua Komiti i te rārangi o ngā uiuitanga i tēnei wā tonu.
The Maori Affairs Select Committee has picked up the call from the Maori Party to initiate an inquiry into all aspects of the Treaty process and is currently considering the terms of reference.
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E uiui ana te katoa o te motu, me pēhea ngā kēnge.
New Zealanders up and down the country are asking what should we do about gangs?
I oti i Te Reo Irirangi Wātea he rangahau e whakaatu ana e 46% pai heneit (ōrau) o te hunga i uiuitia e whakaaro ana me whakarongo tātau ki ngā kēnge ake kia taea e tātau te mahi tahi ki te whakakore i tēnei mea te tūkinotanga.
A recent poll conducted on Waatea Radio, concluded that 46% of those polled believed we should listen to gangs themselves to ensure that we can all work together, to make the changes necessary for eliminating violence.
I waenga i te whakarongotanga i ērā tāpaetanga me ērā arotakenga, i tau mai a Angela Davis ki Aotearoa.
In the midst of all these submissions and reviews, Angela Davis walked into Aotearoa.
I roto i tana pukapuka whakamutunga, "Kua kore he take o ngā Whareherehere?" ka kōkiri mai a Ahorangi Davis i ngā take hei tautoko i te mauheretangakore - e ākiaki ana i ngā Whenua o te ao ki te whakakore i te takahi i ngā matatika tāngata i roto i ngā momo whareherehere kei reira te iwa miriona tāngata e tūkinotia ana.
In her recent book, ‘Is the Prison Obsolete?’ Professor Davis argues for ‘decarceration’ – urging nations to confront the human rights catastrophe in our jails and prisons that is being experienced currently by some nine million inmates.
Ko tāna e wero ana:
"Kua whakahoahoatia ngā momo whareherehere ki te whawhati i ngā tāngata, kia huri rātau kia rite ki ngā momo o tētehi whare kararehe - e tūpou noa ana ki ngā kaipupuri i ngā kī, engari ka noho tonu he mea tūkino tētehi mauhere ki tētehi"
Her challenge is:
“Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo – obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other”.
Heoi, he aha te urupare e tika ana kia rere puta noa i Aotearoa mō te pānga ki ngā iwi katoa o te motu o te nui o te mauherehere?
So what should be the conversation that we have in Aotearoa about the impact of mass incarceration on the populous?
Ko ā ngā Pire e rima e tautohetohetia ana e tātau i te rā nei he huri i ngā tikanga e pā ana ki ngā whiu ā-hāpori, ki te mauhere ā-kāinga, ki te utu here, ki ngā ritenga tuku whakamātau me te whakatunga o te Kaunihera Whakatau Whiu.
The suite of five Bills that we are debating today, change procedures around community sentences, home detention, bail, parole conditions, as well as the establishment of a Sentencing Council.
Ko ā matau i te wā e tere ana ngā Pire i te Whare Paremata he whakaū i tō mātau hiahia kia matapakitia whānuitia e tātau katoa me mutu tā tātau whirinaki nui ki te mauheretanga ki te whakautu i ngā hara.
Our contributions as the Bills have proceeded through the House have emphasized our preference for instigating a wide-ranging discussion about how we can increase our over-reliance on the use of imprisonment as a response to crime.
Nā mātau hoki i hura i te tauākī whakahurihuri tērā i whakapāohotia e Te Tari Ture i roto i tāna Mahere Mahi "Ehara i te te mea he tangata hara mehemea he tangata Māori."
We also exposed the revolutionary statement issued by the Ministry of Justice in their Programme of Action “Being Maori does not make a person an offender”.
Heoi, ko te wero kei mua tonu i a tātau, kia whakatauria ēnei Pire hei Ture, ka pēhea ka noho tonu ai ēnei mātāpono matua.
The challenge, therefore, that remains once this Bill is passed and made into law, is how to ensure these two central principles are retained.
Ka pēhea tātau, e noho nei hei Whenua kotahi, e aro ana ki te huarahi e kitea nei e tātau te maha rawa o te mahi hara, o te whiu, o te whakamauhere, o te mahi hara anō?
How do we, as a nation, address the staggering rates of offending, conviction, incarceration and re-offending?
Ka pēhea tātau e whakarite ai i tētehi pūnaha ture e whakakaupapatia ana ki te whakatika me te whakahoa, kaua ki te whakawhiunga me te whai utu?
How do we achieve a justice system based on reparation and reconciliation rather than retribution and vengeance?
Me pēhea tātau e whakaohooho ai i ngā iwi kia kitea ai ko ngā kura me ngā hāpori kē ngā kōwhiringa mana, kaua ko ngā whareherehere me ngā herenga pirihimana? Kia whakatūria he tāhuhu rautaki e whakaritea ai ko te hauora me te painga o ngā tāngata katoa e noho matua ana kaua ko te pakanga hōkeka ki te mauherehere i ngā tāngata ki ro' rore.
How do we actively inspire the people to hold a vision in which schools and communities are the most powerful alternative to jails and police cells? An overarching strategy in which the health and wellbeing of all citizens is our ultimate priority instead of the frenzied battle to lock people away in cages?
Ā, i te wā e kaha tautohetohe ana, ka pēhea te wāhi ki ngā whānau, ki ngā hapū, ki ngā iwi e whakatakoto i te huarahi anga whakamua?
And through all these debates, what involvement will whanau, hapu and iwi have in helping to set our direction forward?
Kua tautoko te Pāti Māori i ngā huringa o ngā ture Pūnaha Taihara hei whakaū i tā mātau e hiahia ana kia wehe tātau i te huarahi whiu, aupēhi kia huri kē ki ngā kōwhiringa whai tikanga whakahou.
The Maori Party has supported the reform of Criminal Justice legislation in our commitment to move from a punitive and repressive regime towards restorative justice alternatives.
I pōhiri mātau ki te whakahoutanga tērā i puta i te wāhi ki ngā whiriwhiringa a te Komiti i ēnei Pire e pā ana ki ngā matatika o ngā marurenga - he whakatauiratanga i tā te MMP e whakatinahia ana. I whakaorangia ō mātau ngākau ki te kite i ngā rōpū katoa e whakaae ana me mau tonu i ngā marurenga ō rātau matatika o te wā nei. Ko te whakaū i ngā matatika o ngā marurenga ki te puta i mua i te Poari Tuku Whakamātau he mea nui i roto i tā tātau tikanga kāwanatanga whai pōti.
We welcomed the innovation that took place at the committee stages of this Bill regarding victim’s rights – a model of MMP in action. It was heartening to see all parties agree to enable victims to attain their current rights. The endorsement of victims' rights to appear before the Parole Board is an important tenet of democracy.
E whakamaumahara ana mātau i te Whare Paremata i ngā whakaaro o te Kaiwhakawā, a David Carruthers - ko te Tiamana o te Poari Tuku Whakamātau o Aotearoa - ko tā te tupu tauirakore o nga mauhere e whakaatu mai ana ko te pānga ki ngā whānau, kua noho hoki ko rātau he marurenga o ngā hara, i te wā kua ngaro tētehi o rātau i roto i ngā whareherehere.
We remind the House too of the views of Judge David Carruthers – the Chair of the New Zealand Parole Board, that the unprecedented growth in imprisonment numbers has also seen increasing impacts on family members who become in themselves, victims of crime, through losing one of their members to jail.
Ko te rongoa matua e huri ai te pūnaha ture, e whakamanahia ana e ngā Pire e rima nei, ko te Kaunihera Whakatau Whiu.
The key measure to bring about change in the justice system, as mandated by these five Bills, is the Sentencing Council.
E tautoko ana te Pāti Māori i te whakatūnga o tēnei taiwhanga hou e rite tonu ai te pānga o te tika, ahakoa ka whiua tētehi i Whangarei, i Otepoti, i Tāmaki-mākau-rau ki te Tonga, i te Wai Pounamu.
The Maori Party supports the establishment of this new forum to ensure a consistent application of justice whether one is sentenced in Whangarei or Dunedin; South Auckland or the South Island.
E kaha nei tā mātau whakahau ko te tohungatanga o te tangata whenua me noho matua i te wā e whiriwhirihia ana ngā mema mō te Kaunihera nei.
But we hasten to suggest that Tangata whenua expertise must be considered a core priority in considering the appointment of membership to the Council.
E hoki nei a au ki oku whakaaro o Ahorangi Davis i tāna, i"Kua kore he take o ngā Whareherehere?" E whakaarangia ake ana e ia te wero kua pērā te tere o te tupu o te tauporitanga o ngā whareherehere o Amerika ka pēnei ai tana kōrero:
And I return again to the thoughts of Professor Davis in‘Are Prisons Obsolete’. She throws up the challenge that the population of the United States Prisons has increased with such rapidity that and I quote:
"ka nui ake te tūponotanga he tokomaha ngā tāngata o ngā hāpori mangumangu, Pāniora, tāngata whenua ka mauheretia i ērā ka whai i te mātauranga pai."
“many people in black, Latino and Native American communities now have a far greater chance of going to prison than of getting a decent education”.
E toko ake ana te whakaaro, e tere nei tā tātau whakaeke ki tērā tūāhuatanga i kōnei.
I roto i te toru tau iti iho, i peke te tokomaha o ngā mauherehere Māori mai i te 2883 (i te tau 2002) ki te 3481 (i te tau 2005).
And I have to wonder, whether we are fast approaching a similar situation here. In less than three years, the total number of Maori inmates leapt from 2883 (in 2002) to 3481 in 2005.
Engari, i taua wā tonu, i roto i te Pūrongo ā-Tau 2005/06 a te Ara Poutama i kumea kia toru o ngā kaupapa e rima i taea ai e ngā whānau te whai pānga ki ngā mahi kia tautokohia kētia ko "ētehi kaupapa nui ake."
And yet in this same time period, the 2005/06 Annual Report for the Department of Corrections withdrew three of the five initiatives for whanau involvement projects due to a “shift in focus” for “initiatives of a higher priority”.
E te kaiwhakahaere i ngā kōrero, ko te uruparetanga te mea nui, ko te whai wāhi o te katoa i roto i taua uruparetanga anō hoki.
Mr Speaker, it’s all about having the debate – and making sure that we are all part of that debate.
Ki te piki haere te tokomaha o tētehi hāpori e mauheretia ana, he aha tātau e kore ai e pātai ki taua hāpori me pēhea e kaupare atu ai te waipuke?
If numbers are rising from a particular community, why not ask that community for ideas about how to stem the tide?
Me matua whakarite te uruparetanga mō te huarahi pai ake e whakaitia ai te maha o ngā Māori e tūkinotia ana e ngā mahi hara.
We need to see the debate take place about the best ways to rapidly reduce the number of Maori who are victimised by offending behaviour.
Me matua matapaki e tātau kia whiriwhiritia ai ngā rautaki whai hua ki te whakaiti i te tokomaha o ngā Māori e mauheretia ana, e whiua ana, e tukuna ana ki ngā whareherehere i roto i te pūnaha ture.
We need to see the debate happen about the most effective strategies to reduce the number of Maori who are arrested, convicted and imprisoned through the criminal justice system.
E tautoko mārika ana mātau i ngā whakaaro o Ahorangi Davis e wero ana i te ahu mahi whareherehere - te hangaanga e pupuri ana i te tokomaha o ō tātau iwi ki te whai i te oranga wawata kore.
We absolutely endorse the sentiments of Professor Davis in confronting the prison industrial complex – the structure that is restricting so many of our people into lives without hope.
Ko te whakahou i te Ture Taihara he mea me whai i ngā tūāhuatanga hou rawa, kia hou ai ō tātau whakaaro kia kaua ngā ritenga mō te ture ā-hāpori e whakakaupapatia ki ngā whareherehere hei whakahaere, hei whakatikatika rānei.
Criminal justice reform should include radical reforms of our thinking wherein the notion of social justice is not reliant on the institution of the jail for methods of control and punishment.
E wawata ana mātau ko ngā amenamana ki te Ture Whakarite Whiu mā reira e tika ake ai te wāhi ki te mauhere ā-kāinga, ki ngā whiunga ā-hāpori, e heke iho ai te maha o ngā mauheretanga.
We are hopeful that the amendments to the Sentencing Act around home detention and community based sentences may provide greater incentive for reducing the incarceration rate over time.
E kaha nei tā mātau tautoko i te aronga kētanga ki te whakatupu o ngā pūkenga mahi tūāpapa, o ngā pūkenga whai oranga hei wāhanga o te mauhere ā-hāpori me te tikanga mō te tino mātakitakitanga.
We strongly support the increased emphasis accorded to the acquisition of basic work and life skills as part of community detention and intensive supervision.
E tautapa nei mātau kia whakarite i tētehi kia whai hua tana oranga me mātua whakapau i ngā pūtea kia tika ai te whakaora me te whakahou i ngā taihara kia kauparetia atu ai ko ngā hara i pā ki a rātau i te wā e tupu ake ana rātau. He maha ngā rangahau e whakaatu ana he nui te tūkino i pā ki ngā mauhere wāhine.
We would suggest that being equipped for life may also require significant investment in healing and restoration to assist offenders to also overcome the offending that happened to them in their lives. There is a large body of evidence describing the high prevalence of historical sexual abuse reported by female inmates.
Arā atu anō te tūkino ka puta i te mauheretanga.
And there is of course, the harm that is caused through the incarceration period.
Ko ngā rangahau hou kātahi anō ka puta i te Whare Wānanga o Manawatū e whakaatu ana he maha ngā raruraru ā-hinengaro, he nui hoki te hiahia ki te whakamomori a te hunga mau herehere. Koia nei ko ngā take e whakanuia ana i te taiao e aukati ana i ngā momo tautoko āwhina a ngā ratonga hauora hinengaro whai tikanga.
Recent information from Massey University reports on the high rates of mental health problems and suicidal behaviours experienced by prisoners. These are issues which are exacerbated by an environment which limits opportunities to seek help from specialised forensic mental health services.
Ko ngā Pire e whakatakotoria ana hei whakatau mā te Whare Paremata i tēnei rā, e aro ana ki te whakaiti i te hara, ki te aro hoki ki te tupuranga mai o te tauporitanga o ngā whareherehere i Aotearoa puta noa. E wawata nei mātau, ko te whakatū i te Kaunihera Whakatau Whiu he whakamana i te aronga hou kia kōkiritia ai e tātau ngā kōrerorerotanga ērā e tika ana e huri ai tō tātau whenua hei hāpori e tū ai tēnei mea te ture he mea nui atu i te ingoa e mau nei i te Tari Ture.
The Bills in front of the House today, aim to reduce crime and address New Zealand's growing prison population. The establishment of a Sentencing Council we hope will be a powerful new focus for spear-heading the conversation we need to have to ensure the transformation of our society into a society where justice stands for more than the name of a Ministry.
NB: The italicised print is parts of the speech which Dr Sharples was unable to deliver in the House, due to timing restraints.
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