Political dishonesty committed at Brash law and order extravaganza

"Voters will gulp at the audacity of Don Brash's claim that he will spend $1 billion on new privately run prisons and still have a further $600m a year extra to run them after the prison population has increased by 50 per cent," Matt Robson, Progressive Deputy Leader said today.

"Voters will have to draw in further breath because of his promise that at the same time he will have the money for more police, more early intervention programmes, and reintegrating every single inmate into the community and providing work and accommodation for every released prisoner.

"He apparently is going to do all this while offering tax cuts. The Labour Progressive government has changed parole conditions and kept violent offenders in prison longer while building safer communities through regional and economic development, and much needed investment in health and education. We need jobs, education and training, not prisons on every corner.

"Dr Brash needs to be reminded that he has a NIMBY caucus. I well remember as Corrections Minister that when I promoted 4 new regional prisons that National MPs Heatly, Hutchison, English, and Ryall all screamed blue murder when prisons were proposed to be built in their back yards. So where are Brash's prisons going to go?

"Jobs and economic development, family support and the elimination of poverty are the key to safer communities, while locking away violent offenders for longer sentences. All of these issues are being addressed. National will never address the causes of crime if they take money away from families to fund this policy.

"This is also a caucus which has opposed the Families Commission to strengthen families and opposed the regional and economic development strategy, which has seen the lowest unemployment rate in over 14 years," Matt Robson said.

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