Simon Bridges National MP simonbridges.co.nz

National is building a safer New Zealand, with the lowest crime rate in 30 years.

We put 600 extra police on the beat, and have invested in rehabilitation and reintegration to reduce reoffending. National has also focused resources on frontline policing and crime prevention.

One of our priorities this term is to deliver better public services, and the first results for the justice sector better public services targets have been released.

They show almost 3000 fewer violent crimes over the past year. The total reported crime rate is down almost 6 per cent, that's 21,337 fewer crimes, and fewer victims. Youth crime is also down 4 per cent, and reconviction 7 per cent.

These are results to be proud of. I want to thank everyone across the sector – from our boys and girls in blue, to our corrections staff – for the great jobs they do every day to help us achieve these results.

We've set four better public services targets to help reduce crime, and lead to 45,000 fewer victims by 2017. Our targets aim to reduce total recorded crime by 15 per cent, violent crime by 20 per cent, youth crime by 5 per cent, and reoffending by 25 per cent by 2017.

We've delivered on our election promise to better protect the public from serious sexual or violent offenders through the Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Bill, which will allow the High Court to detain these offenders.

We are introducing a new restraining order to protect victims of serious violent or sexual crimes from unwanted contact with their attackers.

National has also launched a pilot Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court in the district courts in Auckland, to help address this key driver of crime.

About 51 per cent of offences are committed 'under the influence”. So dealing with addiction issues before sentencing will let offenders confront their drug and alcohol dependency, while still holding them accountable for their actions.

We believe that helping rehabilitate offenders will reduce the likelihood of reoffending, and research shows that this is the case where prisoners are employed on release. From 2009 to 2012 the number of prisoners in vocational training, employment and literacy and numeracy education increased from 5,359 to 7,529. This is great news that will help us meet our target to reduce reoffending.

National promised to build a safer New Zealand, and we are delivering on that promise.

Climate talks in Qatar

This week I am in Doha, Qatar for the 18th ministerial climate change conference under the UN Convention on Climate Change. To succeed in this area we need maximum participation from countries. In short, we need to maximise the nations on the ‘mitigation bus' and it is for this reason that we decided as a Government to make our next commitment through the UN under what is called 'the Convention Track” rather than under the Kyoto Protocol. After all, more than 85 per cent of global emissions from countries are outside the protocol and so if we want to make a difference that's where global action is required.