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What really matters this election – poverty

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, September 30th, 2023 - 38 comments

National has shown its real priorities with proposals to cut benefits that will pay for increased tax concessions for landlords and increasing prison resources in anticipation of the crime wave the increased poverty will cause.

The very strange election campaign

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, July 8th, 2023 - 86 comments

With 98 days to go despite large parts of the electorate being very grumpy the polls are neck and neck and Labour can still win. This is what they have to do.

NACT’s Law & Order Policies: Dog Whistle Or Proto-Fascism?

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, June 26th, 2023 - 22 comments

NACT’s Law & Order policies are a dog whistle and signs of proto-fascism.

Prison conditions

Written By: - Date published: 12:56 pm, January 4th, 2021 - 27 comments

Statements by the Minister for Corrections and Corrections themselves asserting that there had been no complaints about prison conditions at Waikeria, in the face of the Ombudsman’s report, just look to me to be pure sophistry and bullshit. The report on conditions in the high security make grim reading. Even ignoring the inmates protest – I want to protest about the waste of my taxes in providing such a unproductive, inhumane and outright evil environment.

Waikeria Prison

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, January 3rd, 2021 - 95 comments

The stand off at Waikeria Prison between inmates and Corrections staff has attracted two responses from opposition parties, one being constructive and helpful and the other being complete and utter grandstanding.

Trump pardons buddies

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, December 27th, 2020 - 13 comments

Donald trump has in the past couple of days issued a number of pardons to people including former members of his campaign team, Jared Kushner’s father, a group of contractors involved in the massacre of 14 Iraqi civilians including a 14 year old boy and Ben Carson’s best friend.

National’s week from hell

Written By: - Date published: 6:01 pm, August 2nd, 2020 - 34 comments

A review of National’s week which is as bad as any week I can remember.

National is going low on law and order issues

Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, February 27th, 2020 - 10 comments

Over the past week National has shown a willingness to take really base aggressive positions on law and order issues for political advantages no matter what principles are at stake.  And at the same time show a complete lack of understanding of the issues that are involved.

BREAKING NEWS: Simon Bridges Calls on Simon Bridges to Stand Down

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 pm, February 18th, 2020 - 5 comments

BREAKING NEWS: Simon Bridges calls on the leader of the opposition to stand down while the SFO case is before the courts.

Little announces changes to Prisoner voting rights

Written By: - Date published: 12:58 pm, November 26th, 2019 - 44 comments

Andrew Little has announced a review of prisoner voting rights to overturn National’s law change which the Courts have ruled to be in breach of fundamental rights and unjustified. Simon Bridges has announced that National will reverse any such law change. And he has topped this off by proposing that Tauranga City Council should prosecute and fine beggars and homeless people.

British Justice tortures Assange

Written By: - Date published: 4:14 am, October 26th, 2019 - 36 comments

Craig Murray reports on the horror of Julian Assange’s treatment by British so-called “justice.” Read it and don’t weep. You can see why Murray resigned from the UK foreign service; their diplomacy is just as bad.

The Government’s prison reforms

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, August 20th, 2019 - 71 comments

The Government has announced policies designed to reduce Maori incarceration rates dramatically.

Bridges’ dodgy crime statistics

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, May 27th, 2019 - 26 comments

Simon Bridges is trumpeting some figures he has received from the Government as evidence that crime rates are increasing.  But there is a slight problem.  Police figures show that the number of reported offences is decreasing.

Assange Must Be Extradited

Written By: - Date published: 11:57 am, April 14th, 2019 - 252 comments

There is no doubt that Julian Assange should be extradited when his UK jail sentence ends. Justice demands it.

Walking the Human Rights Tightrope in NZ Prisons

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 pm, April 1st, 2019 - 114 comments

The question of prisoners’ rights has hit the news today. That’s rare because we don’t normally care.

A new Guest Post from Maggie puts the case that we walk a tightrope when we seek to simplify the complex issues at play in prison.

Simon Bridges says the weirdest things – Criminal Justice

Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, September 1st, 2018 - 30 comments

Simon Bridges has justified his claim that the three strikes law is working by releasing an Italian study that has not been peer reviewed on the effects on white collar criminals of a pardon system.

The UN is shocked by NZ’s child poverty rates

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, July 22nd, 2018 - 89 comments

Earlier this year the United Nations expressed shock and concern at New Zealand’s rates of child poverty, homelessness, incarceration and violence.  What is this Government doing to address these issues?

Simon Bridges, the three strikes law and the Bill of Rights

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, June 2nd, 2018 - 17 comments

National obviously desperately want to divert attention away from the Housing Corp methamphetamine fiasco. After five days of continuous bad news who can blame them.

Labour does not want to let them all out

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, June 1st, 2018 - 170 comments

Andrew Little has proposed the repeal of the irrational three strikes law.  But signs are that National will not engage in a reasoned debate about what the law should be.

The law and order debate and the grade one tosser

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, May 22nd, 2018 - 36 comments

The Government has announced it will not proceed with the Waikeria mega prison as part of its policy to decrease the prison muster by 30%.  And the called for public debate starts off with one of the major players using a study the author of which subsequently retracted because the data he relied on was wrong.

Simon Bridges’ not very good first week

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, March 4th, 2018 - 44 comments

In this very important first week Simon Bridges has committed two major blunders. He has claimed he was environmentally friendly when any view of his Ministerial history would confirm that this is not the case. And he forgot his Government oversaw the stripping of democratic rights from all prisoners, and adjusted his position when his error was pointed out.

Why does Criminal Justice have to be so politicised?

Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, February 25th, 2018 - 67 comments

Judith Collins has indicated that the chances of a mature debate about Criminal Justice are slim.

Little proposes radical shake up of the Criminal Justice system

Written By: - Date published: 11:39 am, February 24th, 2018 - 152 comments

Andrew Little has called for a complete change the way criminal justice works.  But National’s initial response suggests that the prospects of a mature discussion on the issue are slim.

Rimutaka Prison.

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, January 28th, 2018 - 51 comments

Who are the bigger criminals?

Updated.

Three strikes law to go

Written By: - Date published: 3:04 pm, November 1st, 2017 - 147 comments

Andrew Little has announced that Act’s three strikes for offenders legislation is going to be repealed.

The Catholic Church is urging its parishoners to vote

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, July 21st, 2017 - 29 comments

The catholic bishops of Aotearoa have released a pamphlet urging parishoners to vote. And apart from conservative positions on euthenasia and drug liberalisation the policies they support have a decidedly progressive bent.

Nats panic over climbing prison population – I have some advice

Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, July 15th, 2017 - 70 comments

The government is “seeking advice” over the skyrocketing prison population. I’m happy to oblige – but they aren’t going to like it…

Māori prison?

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, May 9th, 2017 - 68 comments

Andrew Little is not ruling out the ‘radical’ suggestion of a prison run on Maori values: ‘Whatever we’re doing now is wrong’.

NRT: The banality of evil

Written By: - Date published: 2:48 pm, March 6th, 2017 - 3 comments

I/S at No Right Turn: “This is where National’s cuts and austerity have taken us: to a place where Corrections tortures and abuses people because it is the “cheapest” way of managing them.”

The Chief Prison Inspector’s report on Serco and MECF

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, October 7th, 2016 - 46 comments

The Chief Prison Inspector’s report on Mount Eden Corrections Facility has now been released and has presented a damning judgment on Serco’s management of the prison.

America bails on private prisons

Written By: - Date published: 3:49 pm, August 19th, 2016 - 19 comments

America is bailing on private prisons because they don’t work. What’s the bet that National is ‘too proud and arrogant’ to follow suit.

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    5 days ago

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    5 days ago

  • The stupidest of stupid reasons
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • A website bereft of buzz
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    5 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: A new Ministry – at last
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Luxon's Breakfast.
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    5 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
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  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
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  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
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  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
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