Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill

Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill
New Zealand Parliament
Long title This omnibus bill reinstates the legislative regime for sentencing repeat serious offenders known as the three-strikes law.
Administered by	Justice Committee
Legislative history
Introduced by	Nicole McKee
First reading	25 June 2024

The Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill is a proposed New Zealand Act of Parliament that seeks to restore the three-strikes sentencing regime that was repealed in 2022. The bill would cover 42 serious violent and sexual offenses including new strangulation and suffocation offences. The Reinstating Three Strikes Bill is one of the key policies of the Sixth National Government that was elected following the 2023 New Zealand general election.

Background

In May 2010, the Fifth National Government passed the Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010 (SPRA), which introduced a three-strikes law sentencing regime for repeat offenders. While it was supported by the centre-right National and libertarian ACT parties, the Sentencing and Parole Reform Act was opposed by the opposition Labour and Green parties as well as National's confidence and supply partner the Māori Party. The SPRA was controversial in New Zealand following its passage. While critics objected to its punitive approach to justice and disproportionate impact on the Māori community, supporters such as the Sensible Sentencing Trust and Family First New Zealand contended that it protected the public from the worst offenders.

During the 2017 New Zealand general election, Labour had campaigned on repealing the SPRA if elected into government. However the Sixth Labour Government had been forced to abandon its plans to repeal the law in 2018 due to the objection of its coalition partner New Zealand First. Following the 2020 New Zealand general election, Labour won a landslide victory, allowing it to govern alone for the first time since the mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) system was introduced in 1996. On 9 August 2022, Labour passed legislation repealing the Sentencing and Parole Reform Act with the support of the allied Green Party and Te Pāti Māori. In response, the opposition National and ACT parties vowed to reinstate three-strikes legislation if they won the 2023 New Zealand general election.

Key provisions

The Reinstating Three Strikes Amendment Bill's regime will cover the same 40 serious violent and sexual offences as the former Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010, with the addition of the new strangulation and suffocation offences. Unlike the previous law, the three-strikes law will only apply to criminal sentences above 24 months. The law imposes a non-parole period of 17 years for the second offence and 20 years for the third offence. As wtih the previous three-strikes legislation, offenders will receive warning of the consequences of reoffending at their first strike. For a second strike, they will be denied parole. For a third strike, offender will serve the maximum penalty without parole.

The Three Strikes Amendment Bill provides some judicial discretion to avoid manifestly unjust outcomes and address outlier cases. It also outlines principles and guidance to assist the courts' application of the new law. The Bill also provides a limited benefit for guilty pleas to avoid re-traumatising victims and to reduce court delays.

The Bill amends several laws including the Sentencing Act 2002, the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003, the Evidence Act 2006, and the Parole Act 2002.

Legislative history

Launch and regulatory impact statement

As part of the National Party's coalition agreement with ACT that was released on 24 November 2023, the Sixth National Government agreed to commit to restoring three-strikes legislation as part of several "tough on crime" policies.

On 11 April 2024, the Ministry of Justice released its regulatory impact statement into the Reinstating Three Strikes Bill. The Ministry's report found that the 2010 three strikes regime had resulted in disproportionate sentencing, did not reduce serious crime and that mandatory sentencing had created inflexibility for judges in imposing sentences. In response, the Ministry proposed increased judicial discretion for sentencing serious offenses, clearer guidance on the three-strikes regime for judges, introduce a threshold sentence of two years imprisonment, providing some benefits for guilty pleas, setting minimum penalties for second and third strike offenses and excluding offenses with a seven-year penalty from the three-strikes regime. The Ministry expressed concerned that reinstating the three-strikes regime would have a disproportionate impact on Māori and Pasifika New Zealanders, and that the legislation could create inconsistencies with the Treaty of Waitangi and New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee subsequently amended the draft legislation to exclude low-level offending and reduce the risk of disproportionate sentencing.

On 22 April 2024, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and McKee confirmed that the Government would proceed with plans to reintroduce three strikes legislation. Details of the new three strikes regime were released including the inclusion of strangulation and suffocation as three-strike offenses and a new requirement that three-strikes legislation would only apply to sentences above 24 years.

Introduction

On 25 June 2024, McKee introduced the legislation into Parliament. During its introduction, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said that the Reinstating Three Strikes legislation addressed the problems associated with the previous Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010. Goldsmith argued that the legislation was needed to send a strong message to serious offenders and to bring justice for victims including Māori, who made up the majority of the victims of crime. By contrast, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said that maximum sentences led to unfair sentencing outcomes and did little to combat crime.

First reading

The Bill passed its first reading on 25 June 2024 by a margin of 68 to 55 votes. While the National, ACT and New Zealand First parties supported the Bill, it was opposed by the opposition Labour, Green parties and Te Pāti Māori. The bill's sponsor McKee said that it would warn offenders about the consequences of serious repeat offending while emphasising that the law would give judges flexibility when imposing sentences.

Opposition MPs Duncan Webb, Tamatha Paul, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, Ginny Andersen and Tracey McLellan criticised the Reinstating Three Strikes Bill, arguing that previous legislation had failed to reduce reoffending, worsened mass incarceration and disproportinately affected Māori. Government MPs Tim Costley, Casey Costello, James Meager, Cameron Brewer and Paulo Garcia argued that the Bill would restore law and order, deter and punish serious repeat offenders, and make communities safer.

Select committee

The Reinstating Three Strikes Amendment Bill was subsequently referred to the Justice select committee. The Bill was open to public submissions between 27 June and 23 July 2024.

Responses

Political parties

On 22 April 2024 Green Party's justice spokesperson Tamatha Paul opposed the Reinstating Three Strikes Bill, stating that it would disproportionately target Māori and contribute to New Zealand's high incarceration rate. Similarly, Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said that three strikes sentencing regimes and other minimum sentencing laws did little to reduce serious crime and reoffending.

Civil society

The conservative justice advocacy group Sensible Sentencing Trust trustee Louise Parsons criticised the Reinstating Three Strikes Bill, describing the proposed law as "weak and watered-down." The Trust opposed the Government's decision to wipe 13,000 former strike warnings and said that the new legislation only affected 30% of offenders covered under the 2010 three-strikes sentencing regime. Parsons also said that the Trust would be reactivating to oppose the legislation and called on the Government to deliver a stronger version of the three-strikes law.

External links

• "Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
• Nicole McKee (2024). Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill (Government Bill 65-1). New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 13 September 2024.