This Amendment Paper amends clause 7 of the Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Bill to retain the mitigating factor for youth at sentencing. This implements the recommendation from Mana Mokopuna who stated that Article 40 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees the right of mokopuna to be dealt with in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth and takes into account the child’s age. The youth factor discount is intended to ensure the sentencing of young offenders takes into account a range of factors that may reduce the culpability of young offenders and/or takes into account the opportunities for rehabilitation. It is clear that reducing the ability for mokopuna under 18 to access the youth factor, leading to harsher sentences, is inconsistent with their rights under Article 40 to be “treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child’s respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child’s assuming a constructive role in society”. Limiting the youth discount to a first (or singular) sentencing is not evidence-based, and is in fact contrary to the scientific evidence. It is likely to produce unjust outcomes.