“Compensation for prisoners at Waikeria Prison following a riot is an insult to hardworking Kiwis who pay their taxes,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“These prisoners are in jail because they hurt people and damaged property. Their victims got no compensation, so why are we paying compensation for them?

“This is the consequence-free culture under the Ardern Government. The wrong people are getting the aroha.

“There are 499 prisoners at Waikeria, not all of them are being compensated. That means some prisoners will receive a taxpayer funded lumpsum of more than $2600.

“People wonder why there’s a malaise in law and order, it’s because this Government’s priorities are all wrong and hardworking honest Kiwis are the ones paying for it.

“If we didn’t laugh, we’d cry. Is this really the best our Government can do with leadership and values?

“It’s time to stop making criminals the priority in our justice system and start putting victims at the centre.

“ACT was the party that introduced the Three Strikes policy. We currently have a Member’s Bill in the Ballot from ACT MP Toni Severin that would require prisoners to complete skills and rehabilitation programmes before they will be considered for parole.

“Prisoners should be using their sentences to become better members of society, not starting riots and taxpayers certainly shouldn’t be footing the bill to compensate them.”

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