Hon Nicole McKee
Associate Minister of Justice

The Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill which passed its third reading today, makes it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending will not be tolerated, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says.

“Reinstating the Three Strikes regime will help keep New Zealanders safer while sending a strong message to those who keep committing these serious crimes that they will face increasingly serious consequences,” Mrs McKee says.

In general, offenders will be warned of the consequences of re-offending at their first strike and will not be eligible for parole at their second strike. For a third strike, offenders will have to serve the maximum penalty without parole.

Offenders will be subject to the regime if they commit a qualifying offence and receive a sentence above the qualifying sentence threshold at each stage. Strike warnings from the previous regime will also carry over into the new regime when they meet the new qualifying sentence threshold to ensure the consistent treatment of serious offending.

“We have worked hard to achieve the right balance between expanding the regime and making sure it targets serious offending, so that the Three Strikes regime is workable and endures,” Mrs McKee says.

The Bill also contains several modifications compared to the previous regime such as:

• adding the new strangulation and suffocation offence to those covered by the previous regime, taking that list to 42 offences;
• imposing lengthy non-parole periods for people who commit murder, of 17 years at second strike and 20 years at third strike;
• providing some judicial discretion when an offender is facing any mandatory consequence, to avoid manifestly unjust outcomes and address outlier cases;
• setting out principles and guidance to help the court apply the new law; and
• allowing a limited benefit for guilty pleas to avoid re-traumatising victims, and to reduce court delays.

“We have listened to New Zealanders and are committed to enforcing tougher consequences for violent offenders while denouncing their actions,” Mrs McKee says.

"The Bill strongly supports other work this Government is doing to restore law and order and improve public safety, such as cracking down on gangs and limiting sentencing discounts.”

Once the Bill receives Royal Assent, there will be a six-month implementation period before the Three Strikes regime commences to allow for necessary operational changes.

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