The National Party promised their first 100 days in government would feature a spurt of activity, and spurt they did, introducing a swathe of new bills, besides breaking some arms and deparmental heads.
December
Last December, as soon as the new Government came into being, it passed under urgency two justice and two money-related acts. The Bail Amendment Act reversed changes made by Labour in 2007 which had meant bail could only be denied to offenders presenting a “real and significant risk”—National have turned the clock back so that bail can be denied to those who present any degree of risk. The Sentencing (Offences Against Children) Amendment Act makes an offence committed against a child an aggravating factor during sentencing. The Taxation Act brought in a new set of tax cuts, while the controversial Employment Relations Amendment Act puts all employees of small businesses (i.e. those with fewer than twenty workers) on a 90day “probation period”, during which they can be fired without any particular reason. National also introduced the Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Bill, allowing police to issue on-the-spot protection orders to those at risk from abuse, without having to go through the courts seeking a warrant—this bill is now at the select committee stage. Besides these justice and economic bills, National also passed acts discouraging renewable electricity and biofuels.
Summer Holidays
While parliament took a break through January, John Key broke his arm, and Health Minsiter Tony Ryall continued cracking down on under-performing district health boards. Education Minister Anne Tolley baffled teachers throughout the land by suggesting they split the school-day into two separate streams, something which would require far more resources than the government is willing to use. Other than that, not a hell of a lot happened, because everyone was too busy being drunk, suntanned and swimming to pay any attention to politics. Oh, and John Key turned up and smiled at Te Tii Waitangi marae on Waitangi day, something Clark had given up on as it proved too stressful.
February
When parliament resumed in February, National returned to the business of passing new legislation under urgency. Their repeal of the controversial Electoral Finance Act was supported by everyone except the Greens, and they also introduced a bill to streamline the Resource Management Act, now at the select committee stage. However, the main work has been undertaken by Simon Power and Judith Collins in introducing law-and-order bills, at the same time as Judith Collins took Corrections head Barry Matthews to task over an auditor’s report showing his department was still allowing prisoners to breach their parole conditions without facing the consequences. Two of these new bills—the Corrections Amendment Act 2 (cracking down on prisoners’ communication with the outside world, for example by confiscating cellphones) and the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Bill—were actually written by Labour but had been allowed to languish until the Nats brought them into play (as we speak, the latter bill is awaiting a final reading). National’s Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Amendment Bill, which grants police greater powers to take DNA samples from alleged offenders, also passed its first reading.
Finally, Power and Collins have introduced four more bills which await final readings and select committee approval. The Gangs and Organised Crime Bill makes membership of a criminal organisation an aggravating factor in sentencing. The Sentencing (Offenders Levy) Amendment Bill requires all offenders to pay a $50 levy to cover their victims’ legal costs. The Children, Young Persons and Their Families (Youth Court) Bill brings 12- and 13-year-olds into the jurisdiction of the youth court, and gives the court a wider range of tools and punishments. Finally, the controversial Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill would bring in the Act Party’s beloved three-strikes policy, denying parole to repeat serious violent offenders—however, National have not promised to support this bill beyond the select committee stage, where it sits currently.
Final Thoughts
So, at the end of 100 days we’ve seen a tough approach to departmental heads in both justice and health, and a swathe of tough-on-crime legislation. This legislation only deals with toughening up the response to the effects of crime, but largely neglects the causes (domestic violence, socio-economic stress, poor quality education) that National promise to now turn to. John Key making a proper appearance at Waitangi, on the heels of appointing both Maori Party leaders to ministerial portfolios, makes this perhaps the first time in its history that National is more in touch with Maori voters than Labour is. The response to the “economic crisis” has been slight but certain, while the details of a promised RMA reform are yet to be really nutted out. National also sought to please the crowd by removing “nanny state” restrictions on fatty foods in schools. So, all-in-all, a bouncy, well-presented first one-hundred days in office, with a respectable amount of cross-party cooperation, but ultimately lacking in meaningful long-term solutions to the economic, environmental or justice concerns at the heart of their programme.