Concealment of Location of Victim Remains Bill — First Reading
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Concealment of Location of Victim Remains Bill First Reading TOM RUTHERFORD (National—Bay of Plenty) (21:53): I move, That the Concealment of Location of Victim Remains Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Justice Committee to consider the bill. This is a bill about one of the most profound and preventable cruelties in our justice system: the refusal of a convicted murderer to disclose where they have hidden their victim’s body. It is a bill that puts victims and their families at the heart of our justice system. It acknowledges the additional anguish faced by families who cannot lay their loved ones to rest because an offender selfishly withholds that information. I want to begin by acknowledging the families who have lived that nightmare and who have courageously shared their stories with me and with this House. Simon McGrath’s brother, Christchurch builder, Michael, was murdered in 2017 by his childhood friend David Benbow. Michael’s body has never been found. Simon told me, when we met, that he still wakes in the night thinking of places Michael could be. He gets in his car and he goes searching, only to return home still without answers. As Simon has written, and I q…
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Concealment of Location of Victim Remains Bill
First Reading
TOM RUTHERFORD (National—Bay of Plenty) (21:53): I move, That the Concealment of Location of Victim Remains Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Justice Committee to consider the bill.
This is a bill about one of the most profound and preventable cruelties in our justice system: the refusal of a convicted murderer to disclose where they have hidden their victim’s body. It is a bill that puts victims and their families at the heart of our justice system. It acknowledges the additional anguish faced by families who cannot lay their loved ones to rest because an offender selfishly withholds that information.
I want to begin by acknowledging the families who have lived that nightmare and who have courageously shared their stories with me and with this House. Simon McGrath’s brother, Christchurch builder, Michael, was murdered in 2017 by his childhood friend David Benbow. Michael’s body has never been found. Simon told me, when we met, that he still wakes in the night thinking of places Michael could be. He gets in his car and he goes searching, only to return home still without answers. As Simon has written, and I quote, “There’s not a day that goes by that I wonder where my brother’s remains lie. It is overwhelmingly a hugely haunting experience.” Simon has been a tireless advocate for this law, and I thank him from the bottom of my heart.
Trish Fabish’s half-brother David Roigard murdered his own son Aaron in 2014. Aaron’s body has never been recovered. Trish has described how David’s ongoing refusal to disclose the location denies her family and Aaron’s friends the dignity of laying him to rest. It allows David to retain a sense of control, even from prison. Trish’s advocacy has been powerful, and I acknowledge her today.
And then there’s the case of Sara Neithe. In March 2003, she was injected with methamphetamine by Mark Pakenham and died. Her body was disposed of and has never been found. At sentencing in 2013, the judge found that Pakenham did know where the body was. The judge described the concealment as akin to perverting the course of justice and added six months to the starting point for sentence. Yet, nearly 23 years later, Sara’s three children, now adults with families of their own, still cannot bury their mother. Yet Mr Pakenham walks and lives in our community freely.
I also want to acknowledge the extraordinary work of Bruce Currie, a former detective, senior sergeant, and now private investigator. Bruce has spent more than 2,000 hours pro bono investigating Sara’s case on behalf of her family. Bruce, your dedication has been instrumental.
These families are not asking for revenge; they’re asking for basic human dignity, the chance to say goodbye properly, to have a grave to visit, to have some form of measure of closure, so they can begin to heal.
Under the current law, while concealment can be taken into account at sentencing, there is no specific statutory requirement for the parole board to refuse parole to an offender who continues to withhold the location of the body. That gap is what this bill closes. The Concealment of Location of Victim Remains Bill does two simple targeted things: first, it amends section 9 of the Sentencing Act to add as an aggravating factor in homicide cases, “any failure or refusal by the offender … to reveal, or to co-operate in any efforts to identify, the location of the [victim’s] body or of any remains”; second, it inserts new section 28A into the Parole Act. It requires the Parole Board when considering an offender convicted of homicide, to refuse parole unless the Board is satisfied that the offender has cooperated satisfactorily, either before or after sentencing, in the investigation to identify the victim’s location.” The board must have regard to information from Police about the nature, extent, and usefulness of any cooperation; any information about the offender’s capacity to cooperate; and the transcript of the sentencing remarks. This is not a rigid automatic bar; it is a clear, principled test focused on genuine cooperation to the best of the offender’s ability.
The bill is modelled directly on legislation passed in the United Kingdom in 2020 and in New South Wales in 2022. Both have proven to be highly effective. In New South Wales, the “No Body, No Parole” law has been credited with prompting double murderer Beaumont Lamarre-Condon to reveal the location of his victim’s bodies. Similar success stories have emerged in Queensland and elsewhere. Offenders who previously had no incentive to disclose, suddenly found one.
This bill also aligns squarely with our Government’s “tough on crime, victims first” approach. We have said repeatedly that the justice system must put victims at its centre. This bill delivers exactly that.
Others will note that the number of such cases is relatively small, and that is true. However, one family living with this torment is one family too many. The number of people affected should never be the measure of whether we act. What matters is the depth of their suffering.
To those concerned about wrongful convictions, the bill changes nothing about the right to appeal. If a conviction is overturned, the parole restriction no longer applies. The test is about genuine cooperation to the best of the offender’s ability. Murder convictions already require proof beyond reasonable doubt. The bill does not undermine those safeguards. It simply ensures that those who are rightly convicted cannot use the justice system to inflict further pain.
The public feedback on this bill has been overwhelmingly positive. New Zealanders want this change. They understand that offenders should not be released back into the community while they continue to deny grieving families the opportunity for closure.
To Simon McGrath, Trish Fabish, Bruce Currie, and every other family member and advocate who has carried this burden for years, today I stand with you. Your persistence and courage have brought us to this moment.
This bill is not about vengeance. It’s about restoring basic human decency to our justice system. It’s about telling every family that their loved one’s memory matters and that we will no longer allow offenders to use silence as a final weapon against the people they have devastated. For too long, murderers have been able to withhold the one piece of information that could bring grieving families some measure of peace. Today, we draw a line in the sand. I commend the Concealment of Location of Victim Remains Bill to the House.
DEPUTY SPEAKER: This debate is interrupted and set down for resumption next sitting day. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. tomorrow.
Debate interrupted.
The House adjourned at 10.02 p.m.