The Green Party welcome the independent advisory group interim justice report which shows a clear call for transformative change within our criminal justice system.

“The huge problems with our criminal justice system are laid out in the report, which is appropriately titled He Waka Roimata - ‘A vessel of tears’”, Green Party justice spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman said today.

“The report paints a sad picture of the state of our criminal justice system.

“Some of the issues include high rates of family violence, traumatising experiences within the system, disproportionate Māori incarceration, and a failed over-emphasis on punishment.

“The Green Party is proud to be part of a Government that is starting to address these issues, for example through the recently announced record funding for responding to family and sexual violence.

“In saying this, there is much more work to do. There must be a transformational change in the systems and culture of our justice institutions.

“We must prioritise the lessons of lived experience captured by this report, including allowing Māori led change to address the harm experienced by tangata whenua.

“Our justice system must adopt new, evidence based approaches to reduce recidivism, there must be compassion and fairness.

“We look forward to seeing the advisory group’s final report and working with other government parties on making transformative change to our criminal justice system”.

© Scoop Media