In an historical first, Labour Candidate ComradeAnnex held a political speech for inmates inside Spring Hill Corrections Facility (Hampton Downs, Waikato) this morning. He spoke to a large gathering of several hundred prisoners in the yard.

“Greeting my fellow New Zealanders”

“New Zealand has adopted an American style Criminal Justice System and it’s not working. Every year we lock up more people, costing us more money, all while failing to tackle the causes of crime. Infact, studies show that mass incarceration increases crime rather then deflates it. If we keep our current system New Zealand will soon have one of the highest prisoner populations per capita coming second only to the United States. New Zealand must look to make sweeping changes to this broken system before we end up with an out of control prison-industrial complex. Labour promises to you, your families, and all Kiwis that we will be at the forefront of this crusade.

“Labour will reverse the Bail Amendment Act 2013. This will help lower the remand prison population (defendants in prison awaiting trial or sentencing). It will lead to about a 1,500 person drop in the NZ prison population and save us a $87,000 a year per prisoner as well as reinstating the right of every New Zealander to remain innocent until proven guilty. Savings will be pumped into parts of the justice system that have proven to be more effective.”

“We will raise the Youth Court age from 17 to 20. Ensuring we focus on rehabilitating our youth before they become embedded it a life of crime rather than punishing them and driving them further down a dark road.”

“We promise to increase the number of Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts from 2 up to 7. This will ensure that kiwis get the treatment they need for substance abuse issues, rather than throwing them into prisons where their issues aren’t addressed and are exacerbated.”

“In addition, we will properly fund Restorative Justice and expand its presence throughout the NZ justice system over the next 10 years. In order to repair the relationship between those who commit crime and the communities they have scared.”

“Lastly and most importantly we will restore every New Zealanders right to vote by repealing the Electoral (Disqualification of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Act 2010 which bars prisoners from voting. Because how can we expect criminals to reintegrate into society unless we allow them a voice within that society”

After his speech, ComradeAnnex spent the day touring the facility, speaking to prisoners about their concerns for the future of New Zealand and he sat in on several of the prisons educational courses.