PM's Presser: Prisoner Compo, The OIA & Mahuta
Tuesday, 5 October 2004, 1:56 pm
Article: Kevin List
Prime Ministers Press Conference – October 4
2004
Prisoner Compo, The OIA, Mahuta & Agent
Orange
By Kevin List IN THIS
EDITION:
- Compensation For Prison
Inmates
- The Official
Information Act And Parliament
-
Nanaia Mahuta's Oral Submission On The Foreshore And Seabed
Bill
- Compensation For Military
Personnel Affected By Agent Orange
********** Compensation For Prison
Inmates
The Prime Minister dealt with a
barrage of questions regarding whether or not inmates should
receive compensation for abuses that occur whilst they are
within the New Zealand penal system. Both the Prime
Minister and Justice Minister Phil Goff pointed out that
there would still be safeguards for prisoners. The Prime
Minister was also keen to point out the new law would still
protect prisoners from prison guards running amok. However,
as was confirmed this morning by a spokesperson for the
Minister of Corrections, the initial High Court verdict
allowing prisoners compensation was triggered by 'systems'
within Corrections rather than out of control prison guards.
Answers relate to the Governments proposals for allowing victims of crime
access to prisoners compensation ( Scoop Backgrounder:
Who Is Responsible For Prison
Abuse?)
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"I don't think it is embarrassing for the
Government. I think it is just the way the law has
developed. Lawyers have found a way to advocate for
prisoners and the outcome has been it has opened up
possibilities for compensation which haven't been considered
before.
"My understanding is that the prisoners
legislation doesn't provide for compensation, but other
routes have been found. Once those other routes have been
found clearly there is going to be a public reaction of the
kind that there has been - which sees people in jail for
extremely serious offences including violent assault and
murder – yet able to collect compensation because of
maltreatment – their victims never got that consideration.
"Of course you have to balance against that [prisoners
being potentially abused] – you don't want prisons where
guards can do anything they like because prisoners are
entitled to basic rights…I don't think it would have been
tenable for the government to leave the law in the state it
was in as a result of these precedents which have been set.
"We can aspire to ever higher standards for prison guards
so that these things don't happen but the reality is that we
now have a number of claims reputedly up to two hundred,
for what has occurred in the past – with the best will in
the world and the most professional prison system in the
world – you will still have someone somewhere who says their
rights were abused. If this isn't closed off [they could be
] ending up with a pot-of-gold."
Question of the Day
(From Pat Plunket): Prime Minister
does it concern you that it appears this regime won't touch
drug dealers at all?
PM: That's something you
need to direct to Mr Goff but we are running out of time -
I've got another meeting. Take it up with him later. (The PM went on to talk about the subject for another ten minutes - clearly this was not her favourite question of the day.)
********** The Official Information
Act And Parliament
Answers relate to the
issue of whether or not parliamentary services should fall
within the ambit of the Official Information Act.
"I
know the Dominion has written rather long articles on this
and I can't say that I have had the time to read them at the
weekend. I don't have [any] reason to suggest a change.
"The Parliamentary Service Commission has never been subject
to the Official Information Act – I suspect that is not
about to change.
"There is one rule that applies to
government agencies – that rule doesn't apply to Parliament,
which is not a government agency."
Answer relates to a
question regarding parliamentary budgets and political
advertising.
"The Auditor General is, as you know,
having a review at the present time of the way those
particular budgets are spent. I think I'd advise waiting to
see what he has to say before taking the matter further."
Answers relate to the why Ministers fall within the
ambit of the Official Information Act but individual MP's do
not.
"The reality is that there is - because Ministers
direct government departments and agencies. All of that is
subject to the Official Information Act as is the
ministerial services budget.
"The Official Information Act
was set up to cover government and statutory agencies
-Parliament frankly is neither."
********** Nanaia Mahuta's Oral
Submission On The Foreshore And Seabed
Bill
Answer relates to Labour MP Nanaia
Mahuta – an opponent of the Government Seabed and Foreshore
legislation – and her [Mahuta's] oral submission to the
Select Committee that is considering the proposed
legislation.
"This issue arose several weeks ago when
her submission became public. I said at the time that her
submissions [on the subject] have been entirely consistent
with what she has been saying on the subject for quite some
months. I'm sure what she says today will be in the same
vein."
Runner Up Question Of the Day (Barry Soper)
"What chance do you think Destiny Church and Brian
Tamaki have of running the Country in four years?"
PM:
"I think they will have to pray somewhat harder!"
********** Compensation For
Military Personnel Affected By Agent
Orange.
Rounding out the days theme of
compensation was the subject of compensation for New Zealand
military personnel exposed to Monsanto defoliant 'Agent
Orange' during the Vietnam war. The Prime Minister was put
under some pressure from the Radio NZ camp regarding this
issue.
"I don't really want to go down that track.
We don't even have the Select Committee Report. The second
point is that our Government has endeavoured to see that New
Zealand veterans are treated no worse than their peers in
other countries.
"In reality NZ has a public health
system that is not like the American system - where what is
designated as being within the scope of an Agent Orange
related disease has all the bearing in the world on whether
you get treatment…We've endeavoured to see that people are
properly treated."
ENDS
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