KEY POINTS:
The family of murder victim Karl Kuchenbecker say their lives are in turmoil.
The Wainuiomata father of two was shot and killed in the hills above Lower Hutt on January 6. The man accused of killing him, Graeme Burton, is due to appear in court in Wellington on Friday on murder and 22 other charges.
Yesterday the family met the Sensible Sentencing Trust to discuss possible legal action against the Corrections Department, modelled on a similar case taken by Tai Hobson, whose wife was killed in the Mount Wellington RSA in 2001.
Trust spokesman Garth McVicar said the Kuchenbecker family were still too distraught to speak publicly, but wanted people to understand if they decided to go ahead with the lawsuit that it was not to gain compensation.
"Nothing can compensate them for the loss they have suffered," Mr McVicar said.
"They just want to change the system to try and ensure that the failings that have failed them don't fail anybody else and no more lives are lost unnecessarily."
The Kuchenbecker family had told him that their lives were in absolute turmoil, Mr McVicar said.
"The said that one day your life is order, everything is going along well, and the next minute you don't know which way is up ... You can be driving along on the motorway and something will trigger you and all of a sudden you have lost control of your emotions.
"It's emotional seeing what those families are needlessly going through. It's just so sad that we go on repeating the same mistakes with these guys."
The family would support any method to change the parole system, including a lawsuit, Mr McVicar said.
Burton, a convicted murderer and prison escaper, had been in breach of his parole conditions for several weeks, before he was shot and wounded by police on January 6 - injuries which later saw his right leg amputated.
National Party leader John Key yesterday used his state of the nation speech in Christchurch to back earlier promises by National's Justice spokesman Simon Power and police spokesman Chester Borrows of a tougher parole policy.
"The tragic events surrounding the parole of Graeme Burton show that Labour's law and order policies seem to be based on the rights of criminals," Mr Key said.
"Let me say that under National, the parole system will be focused on protecting innocent Kiwis from hardened, unrepentant and dangerous criminals. Under any Government I lead there will be no parole for repeat violent offenders."
Justice Minister Mark Burton said 2002 law changes meant serious repeat offenders faced tougher sanctions and served longer sentences than in the past, and legislation was currently going through Parliament to implement further parole reforms.
"These latest changes ... will further consolidate the 'safety of the community' as the paramount consideration in the use of parole," Mr Burton said. "I will be looking closely at the outcome of the investigations into the Graeme Burton case for any systemic issues identified as requiring further policy or legislative action."
Earlier, Corrections Department chief executive Barry Matthews met Police Commissioner Howard Broad to cool down a simmering row between the two agencies over the lengthy delay between Graeme Burton breaching his parole and action to recall him to prison. Both said the meeting was positive, and that their organisation was not critical of the other's role in the Burton case.
