Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the current trespass laws were “no longer fit for purpose” and often “criminals took no notice”.
“They return with impunity and just continue to rob businesses of their livelihoods,” Goldsmith said.
It follows an announcement of a new fines regime, longer prison sentences and an “aggravated theft offence” to deter shoplifters.
The effectiveness of these changes will be debated and seen in the months and years to come. But it is the type of action that leaders in the retail sector have been demanding for years.
The Herald last month reported the findings from Retail NZ on the state of retail crime in New Zealand, which showed 99% of its membership experiencing some form of crime or anti-social behaviour in 2023-2024, up from 93% the year prior.
The cost to the country is estimated to be $2.6 billion.
This week the police also told us what they are dealing with day-to-day. They announced the arrest of four prolific shoplifters, including a family who are facing 36 charges, after they allegedly stole more than $17,000 worth of groceries.
Police described a 54-year-old man in the group as a “high-risk, recidivist retail crime offender”.
And yesterday there was another distressing incident, this time in Whanganui where a man burst into a jewellery store and smashed display cabinets before making off with some loot.
It is clear that under this Government retail crime is a priority for the police and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who is taking an unashamedly pro-business approach.
But despite the obvious harm to our economy and people’s livelihoods, there are some in the political arena who seemingly continue to excuse this criminal behaviour.
Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick was asked about shoplifting on Herald NOW this week by host Ryan Bridge. She danced around the question.
But her party colleague Tamatha Paul left nobody in doubt about what she believed. Taking to social media, she attacked the Government’s policies and blamed societal factors for those who steal.
Yes, Paul is partially correct, there are societal factors at play, but such a fixed position is also an insult to all the hardworking Kiwi battlers doing it tough at the moment who don’t resort to crime.
Perhaps this was a topic the Greens should have let go through to the keeper this week given their recent caucus history with shoplifting.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins also leapt into the retail crime space, telling Newstalk ZB host Nick Mills the reason ram raids no longer featured on the front page of the Herald was because its “Tory owners” wanted National to look good.
An odd piece of editorial feedback from the leader of the Opposition because the statistics show how wrong he is.
In the last full year of the previous Labour Government, there were 714 ram raids, or 59 a month. The numbers did start to come down in 2023, Labour’s final year in office.
In the first five months of this year, there have been 45 ram raids total.
Perhaps Hipkins’ comment is a case of pure politics. Despite Labour leading recent polls on issues such as cost of living, housing and health, the party still trails National on law and order.
Polls aside, this week should remind politicians of all stripes that public support is with those who follow the rules and want safe work environments.
