Thursday 2 May 2002

"Jim Anderton's personal attack earlier today is from a man who publicly said he was leaving politics as a protest against politics being a bear pit," ACT Leader Richard Prebble said.

"It is undignified for a Deputy Prime Minister to be making these personal attacks, and I don't intend to respond in kind.

"I'll let the facts speak for themselves. I'm a former Minister of Police. I have been an advocate of the New York Zero Tolerance for Crime for many years because it works.

"I'm opposed to this Government's Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill because it will mean that 95 percent of violent offenders will have their present court sentences halved.

"This, I predict, will result in increased crime, because statistics show that 50 percent of early-released prisoners reoffend within a year.

"Mr Anderton is mistaken. The ACT Party has been quite upfront. We do accept that Zero Tolerance for Crime requires an increased number of Police officers and increased prisons.

"The extra prison space required is not as great as the Government claims because we have a revolving door prison policy. All I'm advocating is ending the home leave," Richard Prebble said.

Ends

© Scoop Media