The proposed legislation was promised in National's coalition agreement with New Zealand First. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has proposed the introduction of higher penalties for people who assault first responders.
Goldsmith's proposal would expand the current assault against police to also cover prison officers and all other first responders.
The new offence of assaulting a first responder with intent to injure would mean up to five years in prison - two years higher than the standard offence - while injuring them with intent would carry a sentence of up to seven years and counts against the three strikes regime which can impose mandatory minimum sentences.
The proposed legislation was promised in National's coalition agreement with New Zealand First, and follows a Member's bill by then-NZ First MP Darroch Ball was rejected in 2020 by Labour and National, which said it was poorly drafted.
First responders and prison offers ran towards danger rather than away from it to help those who needed urgent assistance, Goldsmith said.
"Assaulting them puts multiple lives at risk, so there must be greater consequences for these heinous acts of violence. Our hardworking police officers, firefighters, paramedics and prison officers deserve better," he said.
The minister confirmed the changes would be progressed as part of a bill making a range of changes to the Crimes Act, with the other parts of the legislation to be announced in due course.
The announcement follows a suite of sentencing changes that came into effect on Sunday.
They include a cap on discounted sentences of 40 percent, a sliding scale of discounts for guilty pleas, preventing the repeated use of sentence reductions for remorse or youth, and the encouragement of cumulative sentencing for offences committed while on bail, in custody, or on parole.
It also brought in new aggravating factors for crimes against sole-charge workers, those who aid and abet young people, and those who livestream their crimes.
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