Prime Minister and MP for Botany, Christopher Luxon, is adamant his Government’s tough stance on law and order issues will go a long way to make east Auckland a safer place.
Over the past week, the Government has delivered on its election promise to take a harder line on those committing crimes.
The tougher laws for criminal offenders and gangs have been delivered as part of the Quarter Three (Q3) Action Plan, Luxon says.
“I’m proud to say we have delivered on 39 of the 40 actions in our Q3 Action Plan, which had a particularly strong focus on restoring law and order.
“Every New Zealander deserves to feel safe in their homes, businesses and communities, but in recent years that feeling has turned to fear for too many.
“Our Government promised to restore law and order,” Luxon says.
“Our Q3 plan has driven significant progress toward that with the passing of four laws that crack down on criminal activity and support offenders to turn their lives around.”
Luxon explains the four new law and order bills passed are:
- Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill – to give police tough powers to go after gangs by restricting their ability to associate and banning gang patches in public.
- Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill – to give police more power to get guns out of the hands of criminals.
- Corrections Amendment Bill – to increase access to effective rehabilitation for prisoners on remand.
- Courts (Remote Participation) Amendment Bill – to improve efficiency in the courts and increase access to justice.
“We have also introduced major sentencing reforms that will ensure criminals receive tougher sentences that reflect the harm they cause to their fellow Kiwis,” Luxon says.
“Alongside actions to restore law and order, the Q3 plan also saw progress toward rebuilding the economy and delivering better public services.”
Luxon says the other actions the Government took in the third quarter are:
- Passed the Local Water Done Well Bill to replace Three Waters.
- Signed the new speed limit rule to reverse blanket speed limit reductions.
- Introduced legislation to eliminate barriers to overseas building products being used in New Zealand.
- Opened the $1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund for applications to help reduce New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit.
- Released a plan for achieving the Government’s five health targets, including faster cancer treatment and improved immunisation for children.
- Released a draft of the new primary schools’ English and Maths curriculum for sector and public consultation.
- Introduced the Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) system to get kids back into the classroom.
Luxon says the one action that was only partially completed is the publication of an updated health workforce plan.
The mental health workforce plan has been published, however, the Government appointed a Commissioner to replace the board of Health NZ in July and the national health workforce plan will now be considered by Cabinet before the end of the year, prior to publication.
