Ian McKelvie wants to reduce rustling.
He's a farmer from (and the MP for), Rangitikei. He believes that the sentences for livestock rustling are so slight that there's little incentive for Police to put effort into catching the varmints who steal.
"This issue, from a rural perspective is a pretty important issue" - Ian McKelvie
MP Ian McKelvie, in his role as Chair of the Primary Production Select Committee. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
His solution is to add rustling to the list of things judges should consider as aggravating factors when they're deciding what to do with a guilty culprit.
To achieve this, Mr McKelvie has written a members bill. His bill was drawn from the "biscuit tin" (where waiting member's bills live), in the most recent ballot.
Phil Smith talks with him about rustling, how his bill hopes to solve it, and the appropriate outcomes for those caught; Ian McKelvie has a liberal approach to criminal justice.