Awaiting statement

Thank you for raising such an incredibly important issue. We have made several attempts while in Opposition to ensure New Zealand fulfils its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and see the age raised to 18. The current age also has a negative impact on children in care and protection, who have support removed at 17. We will continue to push the Government to make this change.

Green Party – Dyslexia, Justice and the Youth Court

The Green Party believes that the justice system fails young people with learning differences on a daily basis and that there is a need to change the justice system to support youth and all people with learning differences. 

Our Youth Policy states that we would:

• Rise the age of criminal responsibility in line with UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and include 17 year olds in the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act.
• Ensure young people under 18 deprived of their liberty are not held in police cells or mixed with adults outside of their family.

We also believe that people in the criminal justice system have often been failed by the education and health systems and that the many people with learning differences are over represented and completely unrecognised in the prisons and youth justice facilities.

The Greens are working for a greater awareness and commitment in the education system in particular screening and support for students with learning differences (especially dyslexia),  so that identification and practical support can build inclusion for all students. The current cost of screening and reliance on extra paid support for students with dyslexia is unaffordable to many in an increasingly unequal society and if we want to reduce numbers of young people in the justice system we need to address their learning needs from the outset in an equitable manner.     

Catherine Delahunty – Education

David Clendon - Justice

Click here for our Dyslexia blog post

NZ First recognises the issues which arise for dyslexic people in the Justice system and we support investigation into how such people can be assisted to overcome these problems.

Click here to read press release.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the founding document of our modern nation reflecting the partnership between Māori as tāngata whenua and the Crown. The government in exercising its kāwanatanga or governance has an obligation to also honour and support the partnership and ensure that Māori retain rangatiratanga or self-determination.

The Māori Party advocates for a restorative justice system based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi which is whānau-centred and free of discrimination.

We aim to:

• Review the entire Justice System to ensure it is aligned with tikanga Māori and a focus on eliminating institutional racism
• Introduce Whānau Facilitators to ensure whānau are informed and are able to discuss all their choices and the consequences (legal and non-legal) in any court system

The Māori Party believes in a justice system that works with whānau to solve problems. We absolutely support the call to raise the Youth Age Court as we know too well Māori representation particularly amongst Rangatahi is high. We also see a high proportion of these rangatahi displaying a variety of learning difficulties and differences. Our approaches are holistic and we believe that the future of our families lies in our hands and that's Whānau Ora.

On behalf of David Seymour, ACT Leader thank you for your email. Mr Seymour does not wish to provide a comment on this matter.

Awaiting statement

UnitedFuture exists as a party to keep Government focused on children and family in all its shapes and sizes – we place children and parents firmly at the centre of all our policies. In this vein UnitedFuture fully supports raising the youth justice threshold to include all children aged under 18. This recognises that people under 18 are legally children, coordinates the youth justice system with the legislation the Dyslexia Foundation of NZ lists and ensures New Zealand’s compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.