Iwi consultation on new prison is money well spent

The thorough consultation with Tainui to prepare the way for the new prison at Spring Hill near Mere Mere was worth every pennyspent over the last four years says former Corrections Minister and Progressive MP Matt Robson.

"Consultation meant that instead of uninformed criticism of the prison and Corrections’ regional prisons programme, Tainui has become a constructive partner in the process. Genuine consultation costs.

"Of course it would have been possible to have followed Act's advice and to have completely ignored the views of Maori. Past practice could also have been followed and forced Maori to have borne all costs while pretending to consult. But fairness dictates that the Crown should pay for adequate information and allowing iwi to participate in the project from design of the prison to delivery of services.

"Mr Hide is following his usual practice of ignoring facts and crying ‘scandal’. I am sure that the Department of Corrections can arrange for genuine consultation with the ACT party so that its members could be informed before they proffer an opinion," said Matt Robson.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>