Greens’ justice spokeswoman Tamatha Paul says defunding cultural reports will deprive the justice system of valuable information into the drivers of crime.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is bringing in legislation to stop legal aid funding for the reports, which are used to give judges background information on defendantswhen it comes to sentencing.
Goldsmith said last year the Justice Department spent $7m of legal aid money on 2500 Section 27 reports. He did not think that was good use of taxpayers’ money, though judges and defence lawyers would disagree.
Paul says National’s one-size-fits-all approach to crime and justice will end up creating more victims, because people will come out of prison and go back to causing harm rather than addressing their underlying problems.
She says most people in prison have disabilities, mental health issues, addiction issues and extensive histories of trauma.
“Most people in prison are deeply traumatised and putting them in jail is not going to heal them. Making sure they have the right rehabilitative support, that they’ve got access to counselling and programmes that support them to be the best versions of themselves is what will see crime reduced in our communities.”
Paul says the cost of imprisoning people is far higher than crime prevention, which can include better housing, employment, liveable benefit rates and even lunch in schools.
