Two bills related to crime and high risk offenders have passed a third reading, doubling the opportunity for Opposition MPs to label the Government "soft on crime".
It seems fitting that two bills related to crime and high risk offenders passed their third and final reading in Parliament this week.
After all, much of the media focus in the past several days has been on a Member of Parliament who, having warned about growing lawlessness, was caught by their own history coming to light.
The two bills have been finalised in the midst of a busy legislative agenda, however in neither instance was the government able to escape the epithet of "being soft on crime" shouted from the opposition benches. That accusation is, after all, traditional - even when the Opposition is voting in favour of the legislation.
Strike down
The Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Bill throws out a 2017 law from the previous National-led Government which meant that someone convicted of a third violent, sex or drug offence automatically received the maximum available sentence without parole.
Speaking during the third reading debate, Justice Minister Kiri Allan explained that the application of that law has led to "some extremely concerning sentencing outcomes".
"Since its introduction, the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court have all ruled that sentences imposed under the three-strikes regime have contravened the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act," she pointed out.
"When we consider the distorting effect on sentence outcomes, it is clear that we would need to see strong evidence of the effectiveness of this law to justify its continued existence. However, there is little evidence that the three-strikes law has worked as intended: to deter or prevent any kind of serious crime.
"It's extremely important to note that this repeal does not mean serious and repeat offenders will not be held to account. B - All of the same measures that are required by the three-strikes regime will still be available to judges once the repeal takes effect."
Strongly opposed to the Bill, the ACT Party's Nicole McKee said the three strikes system had done its bit to keep the worst offenders locked up, adding that violent crime was out of control. But she said the new legislation gave the worst offenders 'an early Christmas present'.
"Three strikes is not about locking up those petty criminals; it's about locking up those that commit one of the 40 named qualifying serious violent offences, the worst of the worst criminals committing the most heinous crimes," she said…