Boot camps – Key doesn’t know best
Written By:
- Date published:
7:15 am, December 17th, 2012 - 106 comments
Categories: crime, john key -
Tags: boot camp, crime, ideological stupidity
One of the defining characteristics of this government is their arrogant “we know best” attitude. Forcing through national standards against all advice. Ignoring environmental warnings and attacking the scientists that raise them. Likewise with a certain journalist and Afghanistan. Trampling local democracy in Canterbury in case elections deliver the “wrong” result. On these and many other matters John Key prefers to “advise himself” rather than listen to the facts.
Trouble is he’s getting advice from an ideologically blinkered idiot.
Take boot camps. If I might be permitted to plagiarise myself, recall that boot camps were the central plank of the Nats’ “Youth Plan”. Key told us that they would “fight a growing youth crime wave and ensure young people get into education or training” and “defuse these unexploded human time-bombs”. Key was warned (and warned and warned and warned) that boot camps don’t work. But the Nats were determined to carry on regardless. Even when roundly “booed” by his audience Key plaintively insisted that “they actually do work”.
Well, actually, no they don’t. Further confirmation last weekend:
‘Boot camps’ criticised over high re-offending
The Government’s so-called “boot camps” for young offenders are copping criticism following news nearly two-thirds of graduates surveyed broke the law again within six months. At $18,000 a head, the question is now being asked, was it money well-spent?
It’s been five years since John Key campaigned on the scheme – good old-fashioned army discipline to sort out New Zealand’s worst young criminals. But Kim Workman, director of Rethinking Crime and Punishment, says it was never going to be a success.
“I think the problem was that it was pronounced as a silver bullet, but was devoid of gunpowder,” he says. …“Within two years of release you would expect the numbers to go up to between 85 and 90 percent, which is about the sort of rate you’d expect if you did nothing at all. So it’s a disappointing result.”
Key was wrong about boot camps. He’s wrong about education, the environment, the democratic rights of Canterbury, the miraculous power of cycleways, the economy, New Zealand’s international obligations on climate change, and much more besides. Every year in office this arrogant government does yet more damage.
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- Referendums for Māori wards a racist step backwardsThe Government's imposed referendum on Māori wards is a racist step backwards for Māori representation, and disregards Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Job losses at Health not worth it for tax cutsNew Zealand will feel the harm of the National Government’s reckless cuts to jobs at the health ministry for generations, says Ayesha Verrall. ...2 weeks ago
- Press release: No Māori initiatives in Government’s nothing planMāori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...2 weeks ago
- Thirty six point PR spinThe Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...2 weeks ago
- Thirty six point PR spinThe Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...2 weeks ago
- Thirty six point PR spinThe Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Social housing off Government’s to-do listThe Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Less money in most people’s pockets this AprilChanges to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...3 weeks ago
- $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...5 hours ago - Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder listThe Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...7 hours ago
- Judicial appointments announcedAttorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...8 hours ago
- Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in SingaporeEducation Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...9 hours ago
- Value of stopbank project proven during cycloneA stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...9 hours ago
- Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visitForeign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...9 hours ago
- Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac DayScience, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...12 hours ago
- Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the PhilippinesPrime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...23 hours ago
- Government commits $20m to Westport flood protectionThe Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...1 day ago
- Taupō takes pole positionThe Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...1 day ago
- Cost of living support for low-income homeownersLocal Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...1 day ago
- Government backing mussel spat projectThe Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...1 day ago
- Government focused on getting people into workBenefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...1 day ago
- Clean energy key driver to reducing emissionsThe Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...2 days ago
- Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forwardThe Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...2 days ago
- Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic PartnershipPrime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...2 days ago
- Government consults on extending coastal permits for portsRMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...2 days ago
- Inflation coming down, but more work to doToday’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...2 days ago
- School attendance restored as a priority in health adviceRefreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...2 days ago
- Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sectorOceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...3 days ago
- Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International CongressAssociate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...3 days ago
- Removing red tape to help early learners thriveThe Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...4 days ago
- RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tapeChanges to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...4 days ago
- McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationshipTrade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...4 days ago
- Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister LeePrime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...4 days ago
- PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ tiesPrime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...4 days ago
- Antarctica New Zealand Board appointmentsForeign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...4 days ago
- Finance Minister travels to Washington DCFinance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...4 days ago
- Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlordsThe coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...4 days ago
- Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being consideredState Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...5 days ago
- New Zealand condemns Iranian strikesPrime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...5 days ago
- Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plansHundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...1 week ago
- Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand ChairHealth Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...1 week ago
- Roads of National Significance planning underwayThe NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...1 week ago
- Navigating an unstable global environmentNew Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...1 week ago
- NZ welcomes Australian Governor-GeneralPrime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...1 week ago
- Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for WinterAssociate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...1 week ago
- NZ and the US: an ever closer partnershipNew Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...1 week ago
- Joint US and NZ declarationApril 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...1 week ago
- NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperationForeign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...1 week ago
- Eugene Doyle: Helen Clark on why AUKUS isn’t in New Zealand’s national interest
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...1 hour ago - Government releases list of organisations shoulder-tapped for fast-track consents
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...2 hours ago - The Week in Politics: Job cuts surge and Waitangi Tribunal troubleAnalysis - It's been a grim week for public servants, while trouble is also brewing between the government and Waitangi Tribunal. ...3 hours ago
- It never rains but it pours: intense rain and flash floods have increased inland in eastern Australi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...4 hours ago
- Watch: Christopher Luxon speaks to media in ManilaThe PM has defended how he's talked up NZ trade on his trip to Southeast Asia, after criticism from his own delegation. ...4 hours ago
- ‘It could be the death of the museum’: why research cuts at a South Australian institution have ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...4 hours ago
- Government signs off $41m clean energy deal with Asian Development BankThe government has committed $41 million to clean energy transition at the Asian Development Bank's Energy Transition Mechanism. ...4 hours ago
- Are 2 mid-career AFL retirements a sign Australian athletes are taking brain health more seriously?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...6 hours ago
- Luxon: Waitangi Tribunal comments from coalition parties 'ill considered'Comments from ACT and NZ First ministers about the Tribunal were "ill considered" and "that message will be underscored" to them, the PM says. ...6 hours ago
- Mental Health Foundation Facing Staff Cuts From Govt Funding Squeeze
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...7 hours ago - I wholeheartedly recommend The President: a brilliant revival of a play of decay, terror and revulsi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...7 hours ago
- How the coolest little capital is shrinkingIt's not the first time a government has targeted public servants for job cuts, but this time Wellington is really feeling it. ...7 hours ago
- Many prisoners go years without touching a smartphone. It means they struggle to navigate life on th...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...7 hours ago
- Ministers accused of Cabinet Manual breach with threats to Waitangi Tribunal
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...7 hours ago - Good news: midlife health is about more than a waist measurement. Here’s whySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...7 hours ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Mitochondrial Problem’ by Evangeline Riddiford Graham
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...7 hours ago - The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 18The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38) Hot off the press, this debut ...7 hours ago
- Department of Conservation closing Dunedin centre, but no jobs lostVisitor habits are changing and DOC needs to adapt in a financially sustainable way, its operations director says. ...7 hours ago
- Unions Collaborate With Thousands Of Job CutsWith New Zealand officially in recession, a swathe of mass sackings is currently sending shockwaves through the entire working class. ...8 hours ago
- Watch live: Christopher Luxon speaks to media in ManilaPrime Minister Christopher Luxon is speaking to reporters in Manila after pledging greater defence cooperation with the Philippines. Watch live. ...8 hours ago
- Government sent please explain letter to Wellington City Council over transport disagreementThe contents were revealed in correspondence from Simeon Brown and Chris Bishop to Wellington's Mayor. ...8 hours ago
- Some families push back against journalists who mine social media for photos – they have every rig...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...8 hours ago
- Mental Health Foundation staff cuts loom, with funding falling behind rising costsChief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...8 hours ago
- The ‘devil comet’ 12P/Pons-Brooks has finally become visible from Australia. What can we expect?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Pons–Brooks visible from Utah, March 9 2024. James Peirce/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND If you’re a fan of all things space, you’ve doubtless heard about the “devil comet”, which has been captivating keen-eyed observers in the ...9 hours ago
- Rugby stadiums are sold as an economic asset – but NZ needs to ask if they’re really worth itSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hamlin, Senior Lecturer in Marketing , University of Otago A multi-billion dollar stadium precinct has been proposed for Auckland, one of three proposals in front of Auckland Council for a new stadium in the city. The council is also considering revamping ...9 hours ago
- Auckland dog attacks: Callouts for attacks on other animals going upRoaming dogs are responsible for more than a thousand attacks on animals each year, and the number is growing. ...9 hours ago
- What access to puberty blockers means for trans young people and their whānauThe Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...9 hours ago
- NZ and Philippines pledge defence cooperation amid rising tensionsThe commitment came after a sit-down meeting between Christopher Luxon and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr overnight. ...11 hours ago
- How superblocks can help reimagine city lifeBarcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...11 hours ago
- Fire engineering expertise may take a big hit with job cuts at MBIEThe public sector cuts are poised to take out a big chunk of expertise at the country's building regulator. ...12 hours ago
- “Fast-track Law To Kill Kiwi”: Students Say Fight Against Anti-democracy Legislation Is Only Jus...Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...12 hours ago
- ‘We have thousands of Modis’: the secret behind the BJP’s enduring success in IndiaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...12 hours ago
- Online schooling is not just for lockdowns. Could it work for your child?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...12 hours ago
- Hear me out: You can shove your reusable period productsYes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...12 hours ago
- Rip It Up And Start Over – Fast-Track Approvals Bill Needs To Be Scrapped“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...12 hours ago
- Maori Authority Warns Government On Fast Track LegislationThe Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...13 hours ago
- Why the government’s haste in changing the health system could come back to haunt itSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...13 hours ago
- Many suicides are related to gambling. How can we tackle this problem?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...13 hours ago
- Things that go buzz in the night – our global study found there really are more insects out after ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...13 hours ago
- Why don’t Australians talk about their salaries? Pay transparency and fairness go hand-in-handSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...13 hours ago
- ‘Character’ And Its Impact On Immigration StatusThe Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...13 hours ago
- 20,000 more on jobseeker benefits than this time last yearThe government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...14 hours ago
- All of the Raglan Roast cafes in Wellington, ranked from worst to bestRaglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...16 hours ago
- Auckland uni students threaten rent strike over rising accommodation feesResidents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously. The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...16 hours ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 19 AprilThe post Daily crossword, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...16 hours ago
- Brakes on transport and logistics sector as demand for freight slowsThe transport sector is currently in the slow lane The post Brakes on transport and logistics sector as demand for freight slows appeared first on Newsroom. ...16 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 AprilLoading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...16 hours ago
- Financial literacy should be on all of usOpinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...16 hours ago
- Missy rustles to stardom in CanadaHineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...16 hours ago
- Emissions fall again – now NZ needs to up the paceOfficial figures confirm New Zealand produced less climate pollution in 2022 than in any other year in the 21st century The post Emissions fall again – now NZ needs to up the pace appeared first on Newsroom. ...16 hours ago
- Warning of death from a million cuts as Oceans Secretariat dissolvedShane Jones says people voted for change, but opponents say small cuts such as ending a special oceans secretariat are starting to add up The post Warning of death from a million cuts as Oceans Secretariat dissolved appeared first on Newsroom. ...16 hours ago
- Defence deal to counter Beijing’s aggression in South China SeaNew Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...16 hours ago
- Wellington’s ebb and flow of public servantsThe thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...16 hours ago
- New Zealand transport planning has gone off the railsOpinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...16 hours ago
- Grattan on Friday: Ethnic tensions will complicate the Albanese government’s multicultural policy ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...22 hours ago
- Group plans work to improve safety of female MPsNew research shows harassment of elected officials - especially women - is on the rise. ...23 hours ago
- Ukraine warns of WW3 ahead of long-stalled Congress aid voteUkraine's Prime Minister says his country desperately needs the US to approve long-stalled security assistance. ...1 day ago
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http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/1302542–atkinson-series-surprising-lessons-on-the-youth-job-crisis
Shorter r0b
‘I hate Key wah wah wah’
Take a break away from the blog and put your feet up with the family.
Pretty much.
There is no point to the post, it’s just a rant.
Umless you actually read it of course.
If you did, you’d have noticed that it’s about yet another one of Key’s pet no-evidence projects turning out to be yet another massive waste of time and money for no result.
Just like we all said it would all along. I might have to go back and find out what you and hs were saying back then…
Retroactive stalker tr0lls should get a life.
There’s not a hint of irony in your last two comments, is there hs?
Perhaps a bit of tungsteny.
Lead.
Boron
Clever riposte. At least you RWNJs have been good for a laugh this morning. Thanks.
What is a RWNJ ?
I believe it stands for Right Wing Nut Job but applies broadly to ‘anyone who disagrees with me’.
Indeed the same kind of bizarre invective you get on most blogs – a bit like wee Draco’s ‘there’s no one to the left of me and everyone to the right of me is a rabid rightwinger.’
Err no, Contrarian, it applies to right wing nut jobs.
You, for example, often disagree with me but you’re not a rwnj you’re just frequently wrong about things 😉
higherstandard isn’t a rwnj either, he’s a sensible apolitical disinterested party who pretends to be a doctor because he thinks it gives his common sense views more weight (it hasn’t worked yet). His views, totally by chance, just happen to match almost perfectly with everything John Key says but he regularly assures me that’s entirely coincidental.
Really ?
Does John Key regularly call Parata and his other ministers buffoons and troughers and support higher taxes?
More importantly does putting smiley faces in comments signify that one is not actually desperately trolling and smearing in the hope of a bit of internet bif ?
And regarding who I am – it’s not hard to find out my actual identitiy I did actually post under my own name for a bit back just after i started my own trolling at this site do some more stalking you’ve clearly got too much spare time on your hands today.
lol hs.
Sorry mate, you don’t get to be proud of your trooling and simultaneously expect to be taken seriously in any way.
Why not ? You seem to have your own little club of sychophants that lurve your trooling and general gadabout lying all over the internet.
Not trooling, not lying. And no club, just a humble cynic who’s sick of tory fuckwits like you.
You’re a well known liar and troll Felix.
Sure I am doc.
Well done.
Coming to terms with you internet illness is the first step along the road to recovery.
I read it and it is a an informative list of failures from the Currency Trader. Because thats all he is, he has not got a fucking clue on how to run a country, he only knows how to divert great amounts of other peoples money into his, and his mates pockets.
HS and Infused. If you think it’s so much bullshit, go and write your own columns, instead of crying like little fucking girls, everytime you don’t like what you read. Cue crying.
It’s a sad commentary on the depth of talent in the ‘national’ party which does not reflect the diverse history of this country. It reflects the views of the current financial backers of the ‘national’ party formed by the “greed is good” ethos of the dot.com mania and other bubbles deliberately generated by the low interest rate, easy money, policies of Greenspan and his successors in which Key thrived. Give him some credit – he had enough self-awareness to get out while he was ahead – but is that a basis on which to develop a small economy with long term, property-related, debt proportionally rivalling that of Greece ? The mantra is ‘austerity’, hence Collins with Thatcherian pretensions is wheeled out to manage decline .. on their terms. The image of a lifeboat economy in the South Pacific for the Wall St elite must be very seductive when desperate people a few suburbs away discover they cannot return to the life they lived before Cyclone Sandy.
So, the evidence that the boot camps aren’t working are wrong? Do you have evidence that they are working.
So you aren’t interested in the fact that key’s government has been spending money on policies and initiatives that are not successful? And you don’t think it’s a problem that in a recession they aren’t doing anything that’s helping?
Do you have any evidence or reasons for saying this is not the way it is? Or doesn’t it matter to you that Key fiddles while the country goes down the gurgler?
PS: Thanks Lynn, blockquote button now seems to be working on Chrome.
Why would Nat supporters require evidence of anything? They continue to support a man who “misspeaks” quite regularly about facts/truth and a man who likes reports if they support him and won’t read them if they don’t. It makes sense that his supporters won’t be interested in evidence or truth or things that actually work, otherwise they wouldn’t be supporters any longer. It’s ok to have believed him in 2008, but to have continued to believe him and vote for him in 2011 and to (even if we forgive 2011) continue that support now beggars belief.
I wonder if it is because human nature being what it is people would rather look like idiots than admit they are wrong. And that comment is aimed across the political spectrum not just at Nat supporters. Many who supported the previous government defended the indefensible because it was “their lot”.
It takes courage to change your belief or admit you were wrong about something. When it comes to politics very few have that kind of courage.
” A biased mind, which never sees the complete picture, cannot grasp the reality. And any action that results from such a state of mind will not be in tune with reality. As such it causes a lot of problems.” – D Lama
The Authoritarians
It’s the nature of authoritarian type people to always support their leaders no matter what.
Many Key supporters are desperately clinging to his coattails in the hope that eventually he will save their bacon, and even the problems of the country. They only have to give him “long enough”, the question is “how long is too long?”
Ok, lets go back to just locking them and forgetting about them. Nothing to learn here at all, its all wrong etc. etc . etc.
Yes, it is all wrong.
That’s what all the available facts demonstrate, and always did.
Sorry to disappoint.
What available facts Felix as usual, there is plenty of supporting evidence on how good discipline , structure, outdoor pursuits linked with good mentoring can turn lives around.
Outward bound for years has put through a number of young offenders through their programme, and yes they come out pretty fit as well.
What is your approach for these offenders Felix.
I noticed some reports suggested that the government was considering adding post-boot camp mentoring to the programme. I would have thought such individualised mentoring would have been the main plank of any approach. Not all people will respond to the boot camps regime in the same way. Better to find some positive initiatives that suit each person.
ISTR that when boot camps were initially raised it was pointed out that the few programmes that were anything other than dismal failures recidivism-wise all included extensive counselling and supervision after the “boot camp”.
Once again the damned tories took the punitive parts of an idea and ran with them, while dropping the “pc gone mad” ingredients that actually made the concept work.
And yet the MAC program is failing dismally.
Evidence. Perhaps Colonic Wiper was too busy wiping to do a simple Google search. Or perhaps incapable of even that basic task.
Some context:
NZ prison recidivism rate ≈ 50%
National Party la-la land bullshit camps recidivism rate ≈ 60%
Norway prison recidivism rate ≈ 20%
The National Party and its parrots aren’t interested in doing what works: they just want their sick vengeance fantasies fulfilled.
I don’t think you are interested in what works either One as long as your party is in power.
I was interested enough in what works to go and find out some of the facts around the issue, to learn a bit about Te Hurihanga for example.
I expect you will ignore this evidence and cling to your bias like a security blankie.
PS: My Party? Who I vote for is yet another thing you know less than fuck-all about.
Hi Colonic Wiper,
It’s nice that you think boot camps are a good idea. Unfortunately they don’t work, as this clusterfuck of a National Govt has just proven.
Unless the plan was to increase the reoffending rate, the plan has failed.
“…increase the reoffending rate…”
Wiper doesn’t care about the extra crime that results so long as the vengeance fantasies get fulfilled. What a low-life.
Outward Bound’s “raison d’etre” is NOT to fix young offenders, I wonder if you ever heard of a single one? You are very good at sliding off the point.
I don’t think he’s particularly good at it. Just very keen on trying it.
pfffft, some more tough man bully comments from a bunch of lightweights. what vengence fantasies are these dimwit. And so Dr tell me more about Outward Bound?
“Get tough”, “boot camp” = vengeance fantasies.
Is National planning to ditch their disasterous experiment with boot camps and send young offenders to Outward Bound instead?
No?
Then what the fuck are you on about?
No, we’ve learned a lot. We’ve learned that good rehabilitation works and that the delusional policies of National don’t. Thing is, we learned that before National got voted into power in 2008.
Shorter liarstandard
I love you scum
What a wit.
This government and its disciples have also been proved wrong around the whole philosophy of free enterprise, for example self-regulation of the mining safety sector. It doesn’t work. Yet they continue down the route of self-regulation of the heavy trucking safety sector. Dumbos. Dangerous dumbos.
How many (percentage is fine) of them went straight from Boot Camp to a job?
Not as many that went back into crime, with a whole new set of skills, and fitness to run from the cops.
P.S Lynn Sometimes I get a whole editor sometimes i get a blank page that I have to click a couple of times to get the typing started I am using FF17.01
That’s why I am wondering if the programme would have been more effective as “discipline and physical activity + a job? Perhaps they can alter the plan to add that tot he mix?
What jobs?
The National Party creates the conditions under which crime flourishes (deregulation, underfunding, John Banks) and then complains about the inevitable response.
Good question.
This government, by its own monotonously regular admission, can not create any jobs.
Other governments can, have, do, and will. But not this one.
What jobs do governments create? Thats absolute rubbish if you believe that is what government is for.
Public servantry is not something to aspire to.
That’s nonsense of course anthony bull. Serving the public and aiding the common good is the highest calling of any man or woman.
Its typical of neoliberals and neocons to think otherwise. To them, serving private capital and working in the interests of private shareholders is the only thing they want to see happening in society. Its not really working out that well for most people, is it, although the corporations and the banks are no doubt lovin’ it.
What jobs do governments create?
All of them really. Without our democratic state we wouldn’t have any “jobs” as we know them.
We’d be working, sure, but I don’t think I’d go as far as to call slavery a “job”.
OTV
That was most of my point… this is about gainful employment, amongst other things, something this government refuses to accept is important, except by reducing the living wage
Me too or if I get an editing window it comes with a panel of formatting icons at top.
And sometimes my comment just disappears up the boo-iye.
On the one hand I think there’s a case for automatic independent judicial review of all arguments and evidence heard in select committee and cabinet: a deliberate move to evidence-based policy.
On the other I think it’s quite pathetic that MPs can’t get these basic things right for themselves. What is it about political beliefs that makes people think they are immune from reality?
There’s nothing wrong with “new” ideas – have a test trial, set goals etc. etc, but stubbornly going back to the same failed nonsense over and over again is just embarrassing, like Collins’ response to Binnie.
Lol at the tories charging in to explain that they weren’t really wrong just because their stupid knee-jerk of an ‘idea’ that was predicted to fail, failed, just as predicted.
They sure are fans of accountability.
‘It was just random failure or something! Who could have known? Sure, some people predicted it would fail when we suggested it, but that’s just random too!’
No, the dregs of society who promoted this policy and their supporters are responsible for the extra harm they have caused, just as the Dept. of Corrections is liable for William Bell’s actions.
Sauce for the goose…
The Ministry of Youth Affairs produced a very comprehensive review of the issues around youth offending and rehabilitation in 2001 (Tough Is Not Enough – http://www.myd.govt.nz/documents/about-myd/publications/tough-is-not-enough-2000-nz-.pdf), well before John Key and the National Party came into power.
I wish people would stop portraying “boot camp” as a National Party initiative, when in fact it is just a new development in multi-agency work that has been continuing for decades, involving the military, MSD, Min Justice, Corrections etc.
MAC camps are not “boot camps”, more like wilderness activity or outward bound camps, run in an environment of military discipline, that build self-image and teamwork. I have spoken with a number of people involved with the kids in CYFs and the military – I had to be persistent with my enquiries to get to talk to people directly involved). All were very positive to extremely positive about their success.
I suspect that if figures like costs and re-offending rates (what type of offence and when/how often?) were released to the public it would kick up an even bigger storm of ill-informed debate that would inevitably impact the trainees themselves, by devaluing their experience and damaging their pride in completing the course, also damaging the “esprit de corps” of the staff involved.
Opponents cite the cost of the program. It is about the same as the cost of “residence with supervision” , which is the only alternative sentence a judge can hand down.
Opponents also claim the course will make the offenders “fitter and faster”, making them more difficult to apprehend when they re-offend. This argument is only rhetoric. Surely nobody can seriously raise that as an objection to trying to turn young lives around and, in the same stroke, save the taxpayer millions of dollars in future prosecutions and imprisonments.
I think MAC should be seen as a development from MSD, CYF, NZDF etc. that has been long in the making and is based on evidence. For the sake of the young people and their families involved, and those trying to help them, please don’t use this issue as a stick to beat the Government with!
What do you think is the main reason for the high reoffending rate and what do you think could be done to lower it ?
The main causes for the high recidivism rate are fact-free right wing delusions.
It’s time to get tough on wingnut bullshit.
That’s an immensely helpful comment, did you come with it all by yourself or was there a committee involved ?
As long as wingnuts are aided and abetted in having their dogma inflicted on others, the longer the harm they do will go unchecked.
There is a solution to wingnut bullshit: it used to be called the fourth estate, now it falls upon fact checkers and the electorate. I think the process should be strengthened by introducing robust rules of evidence into policy making.
I can see no reason why misleading a committee of parliament shouldn’t be a criminal offence. Can you?
PS: consider the way wittering ninnies like Sarah Palin have destroyed the GOP. Aren’t you ashamed that the National Party is hell bent on following the same path?
Causes for high re-offending rate? I don’t think it’s been established that the re-offending rate is high. The only figures that were released (perhaps unwisely) relate to two initial intakes during a trial/setup period.I have worked in addiction treatment. It is very common for participants to relapse after completing a program – to fall back into the comfort of their old ways.
But the treatment (usually) remains part of the story of their life – a milestone. They might stumble but that doesn’t mean they’ve failed or are not going to succeed eventually.Analysing outcomes would be difficult. It might make sense to compare re-offending rates with those of detainees in secure youth units. Also, need to look at the frequency and seriousness of offending.If a habitually violent offender is prosecuted for shoplifting after MAC, would that indicate that MAC has failed to stop their violent behaviour? Of course not!But if that violent young person does not show violent behaviour after MAC, surely that indicates success. They would count as “zero” in the re-offending rate.
The thing about treatments that aim to help people transform their lives (into non-offending, non-addiction etc) is that each story is different, moves along its own timeline, and involves family and community influences post-treatment.
There is no quick-fix, and results are not easily measured, where the aim is to cause people to radically change their lives. Change happens in different ways for different people over different times.The majority of crime and the most serious crime is committed by a hard-core of offenders. These are the people MAC is trying to work with early in their lives while change is relatively more easy to bring about.
Do you know if the local DHB CADS are actively involved in the programme ?
Higher Standard – No, sorry I don’t know if CADS are involved. CYFS do work with youth unit of ChCh men’s prison, as evidence of their using outside help.
And Marty’s comment below, I always thought this was pretty mcuh standard practise these days due to the previous good results and data.
I agree, all results ought to be released or none at all. Do you know if the participants were also helped into full-time work at the end or shortly after the course?
You make a reasonable point, boot camps are nothing but Detention Centre Training by another name, unfortunatley as the emphasis of ‘boot camp’ type training is predominantly of the ‘get em out of bed and keep them active’ type then the ongoing effect you talk of is in fact to improve the physical fitness of young offe3nders and this they will carry with them into the world of adult crime,
Detention Centre Training was used extensively on young offenders in the 1970’s and was almost exclusivley focussed upon a militaristic version of ‘get em out of bed and keep em busy’ model of exercise, military marching,and, harsh manual labor, it turned out super-fit young criminals who in 80% of cases had by year 2 re-offended and been furhter sentenced to imprisonment…
These are 15-17 year-olds who are probably quite fit anyway. If they weren’t sentenced to MAC, they would be organising their own physical training in a detention centre, as adult prisoners do in jail.
The program is under the overall control of CYFS and the aim is to address the causes of offending (and treat addictions etc).
NZDF provide a secure unit, which is ‘home base’ for the trainees, and they run an outward-bound style introduction which has the effect building self-image.
I think MAC is an enlightened alternative to jail. Just because “boot camps” have been found generally ineffective (according to international research), doesn’t mean that any sort of involvement of NZDF will fail.
It is,and, has been known for quite some time absolutely useless to take young people away from their society in an effort to address matters of addiction and offending and then to place those young people back into that society in the same conditions where their original addictions and offending manifested,
Such a system is simply counter-productive, while giving such youth ‘the tools’ with which they might address their addiction/offending at some later date who is to say that around age 24 when most offenders with a reasonably long history of addiction/offending have began in their own way to do just that these targeted youth would not also have began to address their addiction/offending,
You seem to think i give a toss who NZDF or CYFS is running such a program, i don’t, the delivery of such programs need be assessed upon out-comes, nothing else and the anecdotal evidence would suggest that the desired outcome of this particular ‘bootcamp program’ does not succeed on any statistical level,
Simply put, for such programs to suceed the youth involved would need after the initial ‘bootcamp’ to be found employment and accomodation as far away as possible from their previous social setting,
The fact is the only sucess emanating from the resurrection of ‘boot-camp’ style youth justice initiatives was the political points scored by Slippery the Prime Minister announcing the ‘bootcamps’ as some form of panacea for youth crime, as the ‘bootcamps’ have failed to stop re-offending they and the Slippery Prime Minister should be marked ‘F’ for Failure…
But part of the “previous social setting” is the family. It’s true the community may be impoverished and dysfunctional but probably nobody has more stake in the young person’s success than the family.
The young people can’t be be “given jobs” because they’re still serving the remainder of their sentence – for 12-14 months, typically. Their offences are serious, and not isolated. Public safety is still a consideration, in the workplace.
Please, pull my other leg, it plays the aria Jesus My Lord Come unto thee, with the backing of the full New Zealand Symphony Orchestra,
You have to be fucking joking, seriously, you have to be either fucking joking or there is something deeply wrong inside your head that from where i sit requires you to avail yourself of some serious professional intervention,
So,after ‘bootcamp’ these young offenders are sent where??? back to the dysfunctional families in dysfunctional suburbs where there are a whole tribe of other kids dysfunctioning all over the place,so public safety is in fact of NO consideration,
Admitt it, the ‘bootcamps were a cheap political trick used by Slippery the Prime Minister to score cheap political points by Him doing His best used car salesman act on the largly clueless electorate attempting to show He had a answer for youth crime,
Fuck, what dribble are you going to come up with next, paerhaps a bit of tiaha training might provide a magical transformation…
Obnoxious Twit :-p
Reoffending is reduced for many Māori through integrated cultural and rehabilition programs.
Which of all the other sticks would you prefer us to beat the government with?
If MAC is used to attack the government, the victims hardest hit will be the MAC trainees.
The boot camps were never anything other than a PR exercise for Key. He doesn’t care about whether they work or not, they’ve served their purpose for him.
Just like National’s other big ideas it reeks of something dreamed up around the whiteboard amid plates of Lampton Quay catering company canapes. It’s about idea that they think plays well with their supporters, giving the vague impression that they are doing something about something while getting those dang asset sales through.
Key’s not stupid, he would listen to expert advice if he actually wanted to do something about crime. He just doesn’t. After all, how would that make him richer and/or get more votes?
You’ve got to realise that government departments don’t just throw away all their research, policy analysis, and planning when a new party gains power.
No, but they can and do shelve or park it if it is contrary to the new govt’s policy
What Tracey said. But I’d replace the word ‘policy’ with ‘dog-whistle target audience’.
The fact that key called them boot camps show where his true intention was. HOWEVER if a by-product of his desire to be seen as a tough-mama is that some good has been done we should be pleased but doesn’t mean we have to credit him as such?
I am aware of a few programmes which have worked very well to reduce re-offending amongst younger folks, including a couple this government stopped funding. presumably because they weren’t calle d”boot-camps”
Tracey, I think you’ve hit the real story. I don’t recall Key calling this program “boot camp”. But he probably did – only he – and it stuck.NZDF has been involved with youth mentoring and activities since the 1970s, working with schools, the police, and many other agencies. An officer involved with the MAC program told me that NZDF now recognise youth work as an area of well-developed expertise with which they can serve the country.Note that NZDF and young offenders both have in common a greater representation of Maori than in the general population.
Jaybob – do I detect sheer racism here?
It is a good thing troubled Maori youth are brought together with potential role models in NZDF.
What true intention. The fitness fanatics among the upwardly mobile also go on “boot camps”. I think you might be fantasising to try and shoehorn some secret Freudian slip from it to attribute to the perfidious Key.
Yeah I guess that makes sense.
If you’re from another planet, just arrived the other day, and don’t know what “boot camp” means.
jaybob
sadly bootcamp is the only way the nats would fund a programme. when in opposition simon made a great speech to one of kim workmans conferenxes. sadly when he had the chance his party stopped him puttibg his words into practice. sadder still he moved from politics to westpac which at times has the ethics of an alleycat
Child poverty, high youth unemployment, low wages, reductions in educational and training opportunities. These are all basic things which if tackled with real resources and vision would make a real difference to the lives of young people.
Instead, we’re stuck in a discussion on how our soldiers have to become expert social workers for dysfunctional young people.
Young people who when they finish these fancy MAC boot camps still have no job to go to, no way into a trade or training, and no place in society. Basically its a wasteful distraction and its no wonder the vast majority of Mac Kids end up in more trouble with the law.
Of course they don’t go straight into jobs after MAC! They still have more than 12 months of their sentence to serve.
The program is run by CYF. NZDF do not deliver “social work” intervention.
The MAC programme is run by CYF but how many CYF staff are there actually on each day of each MAC course. Or are they all at a desk somewhere far away?
Why are our soldiers being made to do social work and baby sitting of dysfunctional youth. Its not a clever approach. Soldiering is about soldiering not social work and hand holding.
1) Trainees travel daily to fully staffed CYF facility
2) NZDF want to be involved as a way of serving the country. Their approach, I believe, reflects their culture: neither harsh, pointless discipline nor soft molly-coddling.
It is doubtful that Key ever believed boot camps would work. In fact having listened to him over the years I doubt that he believes much of anything that he says. That is a considerable advantage if you need a mouthpiece to say what ever it takes to get elected. His electioneering was all about pushing the right buttons to gain power and then get on with the business of reducing perceived impediments to business, restructuring government and putting together some nifty little deals such as Sky City for his backers. Simple really!
Yep, pretty much.
Boot camps don’t work because they’re not brutal enough.
The only thing these young ones respect is whoever is the toughest and most bad ass.
Boot camp shouldn’t be fun, you need to utterly destroy these kids and then reconstruct them.
A nice simple answer to a complex question.
Yeah, reconstruct them as vicious sociopaths who identify brutality as a virtue and domination as success.
Disagree.
I think one of the reason these camps,courses fail is because they’re not seen as punishment by the participants.
Most, if not all of these kids that go to them are bad little fuckers, the state need to demonstrate that it is indeed the toughest and if you fuck with it, you will be fubared.
Initial memories of boot camp should just about cause these kids to void themselves, later on after the fear and terror fades, the kids will have developed a new found respect for society and its rules.
Otherwise it’s boot camp again.
Yeah, and rogernomics would have made us all millionaires but it just didn’t go far enough and made most of us poorer instead.
Dream on. You’re going to need to provide some evidence for your wanking fantasies, because so far all the available evidence says you’re wrong.
BM, in your dreams you are going to invent things that are tougher than the lives these kids have already endured, and then you woke up.
As Felix says, where’s your evidence? Or is your hard-on sufficient?
And the touchy feely liberal approach is working so well.
What touchy feely liberal approach are you talking about, BM? Throwing already brutalised young people into the even more brutal environment of 100-year old prisons to be further brutalised by older and more violent versions of themselves?
It’s a persistent fantasy of the authoritarian/fac1st right that we treat young criminals softly, but it simply doesn’t match up with reality.
BM, finally you introduce a meaningful measure: “what works”. The evidence is that rehabilitation works better (note: “better” does not mean “perfectly”) than punishment.
Did you register the recidivism rate in Norway’s penal system? You would start howling with outrage if we adopted it here, but can you explain why you think 50% recidivism is worth enduring, when a rehabilitative model achieves a 20% reoffending rate?
Are your fantasies that important to you that you would rather cling to them rather than see a reduction in crime? Can you see how I think that makes you a low-life?
Indeed IF we can ever dispense with the failed notion that imprisonment acts as a deterrent against offending we might then begin to find the means of actually reducing such offending,
Finding employment for those at risk of entering a criminal life-style might be a good first step…