At the Government’s criminal justice summit, those on opposing sides of the law and order debate in New Zealand would have found little to change their minds.
Ardent advocates of systemic reform appeared genuinely excited for the opportunity to talk to like-minded Kiwis about what could be improved, if a little wary of whether this Government would be any different to others which had failed to deliver in the past.
For proponents of so-called “tough on crime” policies, the abundance of colourful post-it notes and whiteboards with earnest ideas jotted down evoked what National MP Mark Mitchell derisively dismissed as a “counselling session”.
In truth, it was easy to feel sympathy for the Opposition’s claims that the summit would amount to a mere “talkfest”.
Justice sector ministers hogged the spotlight for a good portion of the first day, and while participation did improve as the event went on, Andrew Little and Kelvin Davis still played a heavy role.
As for the topics of discussion, there was no doubting the significance of the issues raised: the dramatic over-representation of Māori in the justice sector, the failures of bail and remand changes, the need to intervene earlier in the lives of vulnerable Kiwis before they are sucked into crime by demographic undercurrents, to name a few.
Little himself conceded that there was “not a lot of new stuff around” when it came to justice reform – so why not crack on with the change that is sorely needed, rather than spending months talking about it?
But none of these are new problems: most have been on the radar of advocates and experts for years.
Little himself conceded that there was “not a lot of new stuff around” when it came to justice reform – so why not crack on with the change that is sorely needed, rather than spending months talking about it?
In many ways, the summit was about the PR battle to come, the Government’s attempt to win a mandate for the sort of radical change which will be needed if its reforms are going to make a meaningful difference.
Ministers are under no illusions about the challenge they face in pushing ahead on a highly emotive, contentious topic where a negative story in the media can quickly undo months or years of hard work.
Victims’ voices vital
That made it all the more damning that one of National’s concerns heading into the summit, the lack of victims’ voices, was echoed by the representatives who were there.
Victims spoke of suffering again as their traumas were downplayed, or even ignored in favour of the focus on offenders.
Little was quick to throw water on the flickering flames of discontent, saying he would not sign off on any reforms which did not provide meaningful change for victims and promising another, victim-centric conference.
But that sort of failure to adequately account for the needs of a group sorely affected by the justice system does not inspire confidence about the Government’s ability to win the hearts and minds of the public.
One speaker promised to “do the fighting for you” when it came to getting the Government’s reforms across the line: Little, Davis and co will be hoping many more do the same.
The thoughts that were shared by victims, and their conflicts with the views of ex-offenders, gang members and others who spoke, provided some hint of the difficulty of pulling together the different strands of thought into a cohesive whole, keeping a balance without upsetting one group to the point they withdraw from the process.
Then there are the political considerations. Little expressed disappointment at the lack of engagement from National MPs, who did appear unimpressed with what was unfolding – but it is Labour’s coalition partner New Zealand First who will be more critical, having already put its foot down in killing off “three strikes” reform.
One speaker promised to “do the fighting for you” when it came to getting the Government’s reforms across the line: Little, Davis and co will be hoping many more do the same and help to counter the pressure that will inevitably come on from law and order groups.
What needs to change isn’t really in question – whether it will is another matter entirely.
