Prisoner compo bill aids victims

A bill making it tougher for inmates to get compensation from the state - and holding any payments made in trust so victims can sue - will be introduced into Parliament this week.

Justice Minister Phil Goff outlined planned legislative changes in October that raise the bar for offenders to get compensation payouts and allow victims to dip into any windfalls inmates might get.

The moves followed public outrage over a court ruling that awarded five Paremoremo inmates a total of $130,000 in damages for being kept in illegal conditions.

The Prisoners and Victims Compensation Bill will be introduced and get its first reading sometime this week in Parliament, which is due to go into urgency for a huge raft of business.

Mr Goff told the Herald yesterday that he wanted to ensure payments were made to inmates only in "exceptional circumstances".

If a payment was made, victims of the inmates would get first call to counter-claim for the harm or injury they had suffered.

He said the district court - as a "special tribunal" - would determine victims' claims.

"It will be a straightforward and reasonably swift process and it will minimise any stress for the victim because the victim, in the vast majority of cases, won't actually have to turn up in court," Mr Goff said.

Victims would also be eligible for legal aid and Mr Goff would make an exception to legal aid rules which normally let only those on low incomes be eligible.

"Where the inmate, of course, has been able to get legal representation, so too should the victim," he said.

If an inmate was paid compensation, the money would go into a trust fund and victims would have six months to lodge claims.

Other windfalls inmates might get are also up for grabs by victims. The bill will suspend the Statue of Limitation Act six-year period while the inmate is in jail.

"That gives the victim of a crime the ability not to be disadvantaged by the fact that the offender is in jail," Mr Goff said.

"So if the person comes into any other form of money over that period of time, under the normal processes of civil torts, they will be able to make a claim against the offender."

Mr Goff said the bill did not breach the Bill of Rights Act or international law.

United Future has guaranteed support for the bill.

But Green Party justice spokesman Nandor Tanczos said he was concerned the legislation had been hastily put together in reaction to a court case. The party was also worried about the special tribunal.

"I'm extremely concerned about setting up a new court in response to a particular case that's coming through, and fears of other things in the wings.

"Setting up something like that is something you'd normally have the Law Commission do a significant amount of work on."

Getting tough

Changes to inmate compensation rules:

Restrict rules under which compensation can be paid to prisoners.

State-paid compensation will be withheld from criminals for six months so victims can sue, with cases being decided by the district court formed as a special tribunal.

Suspend the statute of limitation of six years for civil action against inmates.

Provide legal aid to sue for state-awarded compensation, and make it available not just to those on low incomes .