It is time for the government to get tough – really tough. Attacks on buses or at bus stops are becoming all too frequent, particularly in Auckland. There have been incidents reported on buses across the city. On Wednesday afternoon on a bus in Onehunga an attack occurred that proved fatal. The victim was not known to the attacker, who sat beside her on the bus. Other incidents have occurred in Tauranga and Rotorua, and Dunedin now has permanent security guards at the central bus station. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. Action is needed.
Buses might be the responsibility of local councils but crimes of this nature are a matter for central government. It is a problem that must involve both the government and the judiciary. I am tired of hearing successive governments referencing the independence of the judiciary. This body, if the Solicitor-General is to be taken at her word, has its own agenda. This appears to be based on two premises: race and leniency. If the coalition Government allows this to continue, crime will run amok.
I don’t give two hoots about the independence of the judiciary but I do care that people should be able to board a bus without fear of being killed. The time has come for the Government to give some clear guidelines to the judiciary of what is expected of them in terms of locking up those who are known to pose a risk to society. We cannot have people who are known to police to be a danger to the public roaming the streets. This is a completely unacceptable state of affairs.
This appears to have been the case in the fatal stabbing that occurred on Wednesday. Court documents show the alleged attacker was accused of having a knife in public and sentenced on charges of threatening to kill. He was charged in September of breaching his release conditions. Why was this man not locked up instead of being bailed, again?
The Government deserves some credit for the work it is currently doing in the area of crime. Dealing to the gangs (much to Mr Waititi’s displeasure) is commendable, as is tightening up the Three Strikes law, but, as Heather du Plessis-Allan says, it needs to be tougher. The government is working on tightening the Sentencing Act but it must be given a sense of priority. The majority of the public are sick and tired of the approach taken by the judiciary when it comes to dealing with offenders. It is my belief that the tougher the government gets, the more the public will be behind them.
Bus drivers and transport workers in general must feel safe at work. Their customers must also feel safe. While it is unrealistic to have security on every bus, train and ferry, a way has to be found to keep those workers and passengers safe. One way is to ensure that those known to put people at risk are not in a position to do so. That relies on the judiciary imposing sentences that ensure that is the case.
