Victims 'central' in Alliance restorative justice scheme

By Audrey Young

The Alliance wants to establish a victims' compensation board as part of a pilot restorative justice system for adult criminals.

The board would oversee a fund to help victims to recover.

"Our policy aims to make victims feel central," said justice spokesman Matt Robson, a contender for the associate justice portfolio in a Labour-Alliance government.

Under restorative justice, used for young people, the offender has to acknowledge the harm and damage to the victim and restoration of the victim becomes the central aim.

Mr Robson said the Alliance would also set up a compensation tribunal to deal with people who were wrongly convicted or were acquitted on appeal after serving part of their sentence.

The party wanted to implement the Thorp Report and register all guns as well as owners. It also wanted to ban all civilian use of military-style semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns.

"While National and Act try to outbid each other over who can be the toughest after a crime has been committed, they go very quiet when you ask them what they are going to do to stop a crime happening in the first place," Mr Robson said.

The Alliance would spend an extra $90 million over three years on mental health.

"Families of the criminally ill cry out for help and don't get it. We want to make sure they get the help ... before a tragic crime is committed."