Simon Bridges - Leader of the Opposition

19 August 2019

The laws around prisoners with extremist views sending letters from jail are fit for purpose as long as Corrections managers and Minister Kelvin Davis are doing their jobs properly, Leader of the Opposition Simon Bridges says.

“The Prime Minister has told media that Cabinet will discuss today whether the laws are adequate. They should save themselves some time - they are.

“There are laws in place which should have stopped this from happening, they just weren’t applied.

“Both Kelvin Davis and Corrections bosses have said the letters shouldn’t have been sent, that is an acknowledgement that they could have been stopped under the current laws.

“What’s happened in the case of the alleged Christchurch gunman and another prisoner with extremist views came down to incompetence from Kelvin Davis and Corrections.

“New Zealand has never had a prisoner like the man accused of murdering 51 people in the Christchurch terror attacks. It was Kelvin Davis’ job to ensure that Corrections had the procedures in place to deal with him. Mr Davis has failed the victims.

“Instead of Cabinet sitting around talking about this today, they should save some time and focus on ensuring the laws that are in place are followed properly. It’s time for Kelvin Davis to get on and do his job.”

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