'MAG delivered:' Sunny Kaushal, as group to wrap up early after resignations

The Government will dissolve its Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) for victims of retail crime in early May, three months earlier than planned, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has confirmed.

The group had been scheduled to conclude its work around September but will now wrap up ahead of time. The decision follows the resignation of three of its five members and the minister’s move not to appoint replacements.

“I’m very relaxed about the Ministerial Advisory Group wrapping up in May,” Sunny Kaushal, chair of MAG, told The Indian Weekender.

Kaushal said his priority as chair was to deliver reform for victims of retail crime rather than allow the group to become an “endless talking group”.

“To this end, I made sure the MAG delivered our advisory work quickly, so that victims could see legislation in the House before we wrapped up,” he added.

“I thought this more important than pursuing endless ‘frameworks’ that other MAG members would have prioritised,” Kaushal said.

Last month, Carolyn Young, Michael Bell and Lindsay Rowles stepped down from the group, leaving Kaushal as chair and Hamilton liquor retailer Ash Parmar as the only other remaining member.

Following the resignations, MAG told The Indian Weekender last month that it was continuing its work while the Justice Minister “considers his next steps on appointing new members”.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith had earlier indicated the group was nearing the end of its mandate and said he would “take stock” of its future.

“For various reasons, three of the members have left, and we could either go through the performance of reappointing them, or just wind it up early,” Goldsmith told 1News.

He described the advisory group as “very successful in getting all the work done”, pointing to changes to the Crimes Act currently before Parliament.

Looking ahead, Kaushal said the focus of MAG beyond May would have been to continue to keep the “pressure on Ministers” to progress its final reports into Government policy.

“We’re currently working on our last few reports, which we will deliver before May. That was always our plan, and in truth the MAG would have been winding down at that stage anyways,” Kaushal told The Indian Weekender.

“That’s something I look forward to doing whether or not I am chair of the MAG,” he added.

Established in July 2024 for a two-year term, the advisory group was tasked with engaging directly with victims of retail crime, workers, business owners, industry experts and advocacy groups, and providing the Government with proposals to address urgent retail crime issues.