The government will legislate to ensure coward punches are treated as a specific offence.
Coward punches, also known as king hits, are when strikes are delivered to a victim's head or neck, without warning and when the victim is unable to defend themselves.
Justice minister Paul Goldsmith said specific offences would reflect the gravity of the crime.
"We know how dangerous they are. People can be killed or suffer lifelong brain injuries, yet perpetrators often receive lenient and insufficient sentences," he said.
The charges and penalties
- An assault offence for one punch attacks which cause grievous bodily harm with associated maximum penalties of - eight years imprisonment when the offender intended to cause injury or acted with reckless disregard for safety. Fifteen years imprisonment when the offender intended to cause grievous bodily harm.
- A culpable homicide offence for a one punch attack which results in death with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
- Both offences would be added to the Three Strikes legislation.
The legislation fulfils part of National's coalition agreement with New Zealand First.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the legislation made it clear the behaviour would no longer be tolerated.
"The victim has no notice, and because of that the chance of them defending themselves is just impossible. So, we want to spell out how unacceptable it is that you behave in that way."
There were renewed calls to specifically criminalise coward punches in 2021, following the death of Fau Vake in Auckland.
In that instance, Daniel Havili pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and was sentenced to two years and nine months in jail.
Goldsmith was reluctant to single out any specific examples of sentences he felt were too lenient, and said the government did not want to be seen to criticise the judiciary over the particulars.
National already had a member's bill drawn from the ballot, in the name of MP Paulo Garcia that would criminalise coward punches, and amend the definition of murder.
Goldsmith said the government would take over Garcia's bill.
A previous National member's bill to create a specific coward punch offence was voted down at its first reading in 2020.
The government's announcement follows a separate piece of legislation announced over the weekend, to introduce higher penalties for people who assault first responders.
The cowards punch legislation would be included in an amendment bill along with the first responder assault penalties, and changes to citizens' arrest laws.
Goldsmith hoped it would be introduced by the end of the year and passed into law before the election.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the party would look at the bill before formulating a position.
He explained that Labour voted against the member's bill in 2020 because the manslaughter laws already allowed for severe penalties for things like coward punches.
"We don't define specific types of action in other areas of legislation, so it's not clear that this is going to make a significant difference."
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