National Party wants restrictions on how serious offenders spend compensation

National Party social development spokeswoman Louise Upston. Photo / Laurilee McMichael

National's Louise Upston says Government plans to drop restrictions on how serious offenders can spend compensation payments for abuse received while children in state care shows no regard for the victims of those people.

The payouts for historic abuse in state care to a group of offenders such as rapists, murderers and child molesters had been on hold for years while the Government worked out how to deal them but they have now started to be paid out according to information released to Newsroom.

Plans to restrict how they could be spent were also scrapped.

Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni told One News offenders were not precluded from having their rights protected and the payouts related to when they were children.

While victims would still be able to claim from compensation claims paid out to prisoners for mistreatment in prison, payments for those abused historically in state care would not be made public.

While 18 of 49 claims by serious offenders have so far been settled, the highest at $50,000, Upston said some payments would go up to $100,000.

"We accept that some form of payment is due to those who suffered in state care, but what we do not accept is that they should get funds with absolutely no constraints on how they spend it.

"We think it is outrageous that the Government is just writing them blank cheques. We think that's really irresponsible and does nothing for the victims of those crimes."

The former National Government had proposed using the money to pay for things such as victim reparations, child support and debts and putting any left over into a trust to be used only for rehabilitation and the reintegration of the offender.

The new Government has dropped that proposal, partly because of the $2 million administration costs and because officials advised loopholes would be hard to avoid.