The offence would carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“New Zealanders will remember numerous high-profile examples throughout our history where children have been brutally murdered, and police have been unable to identify the attacker because people have chosen not to share critical information with them,” Goldsmith said.
National’s justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says the offence will exempt adults present around the death of a child aged 12 or under from the right to silence. Photo / Getty Images
“The right to remain silent is a fundamental principle, however, it should not be absolute when a child has lost their life and, for example, there are only three people in the house, but no one is talking.”
Such cases include the deaths of Chris and Cru Kahui, 84-day-old twin brothers who died just hours apart in 2006 after being violently assaulted at their Māngere home.
Their father, Chris Kahui, was charged with murder yet acquitted in a trial by jury, and to date, no person has been charged or convicted over the boys’ deaths.
“National is committed to fixing the basics in law and order, and building a future where all New Zealanders can feel safe in their communities,” Goldsmith said.
“It is a basic expectation that people speak up and provide police with the information they need when investigating the death of a child.
“Too many children in New Zealand die at the hands of, or with the knowledge of, people who should be protecting them. The right to silence should not be abused to the extent that these horrific crimes go unpunished.
“This will place perpetrators, and their accomplices, into a corner where they will eventually call each other out, because if they don’t, they will all face the consequences.”
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