The families and friends of Kylie Jones and Karen Stanley-Hunt, who was brutally murdered in 1998, have formed a new victims group. They want violent criminals kept behind bars longer and the public to know when they are going to be freed.
Their call comes as 30 convicted murderers come up for parole this month, including Paul Dally, the man who murdered Lower Hutt teenager Karla Cardno.
But Mr Robson ruled out giving the public the information the group asked for - except in certain high-profile cases determined by prison authorities.
"You don't want to turn Parole Board hearings into a public spectacle."
Mr Robson accepted that the number of these high-profile cases could perhaps be increased, but urged caution over uninformed people starting a "bandwagon rolling."
He said that all the important people - victims, police, prison authorities and various experts - could be heard at parole hearings. Victims were able to join a register, be told certain information about their offender and speak at parole hearings.
But the daughter of one Auckland murder victim last night described the minister's response as ridiculous.
The woman, who would be identified only as Val, said her father was murdered in the early 1980s and his two killers released four years ago without her knowledge.
She found out about their parole only by reading the Herald and would have liked to have spoken at their parole hearing.
Val is supporting the new victims group, which is also concerned that many violent criminals are being released after serving a mandatory two-thirds of their sentence, and that the Parole Board is powerless in almost every case to keep them locked up longer.
Under section 105 of the Criminal Justice Act, authorities have to show the Parole Board that a criminal will commit a specified offence after they are released and before their full sentence will expire before they can be made to serve more of their sentence.
Mr Robson said the Government's sentencing reform project was looking at changing this so that the Parole Board had wider powers.
Herald 0900 voteline question:
Should victims have a say in parole hearings?
Ring 0900 700 50, then 1=YES or 2=NO.