Children's Minister Karen Chhour. Photo / Mark Mitchell
As a result of this news, Opposition MPs, eager to exploit tragedy for political gain, have demanded details of individual reoffending cases by the other nine young men in the pilot following their friend’s death.
While conveniently forgetting the efforts of those young people who have seized this opportunity to turn their lives around and pursue a positive path, the Opposition has fixated on condemnation, demonstrating a complete lack of empathy and constructive engagement.
In their rush to condemn the policy, and to condemn me as minister, they have taken a win-at-all-costs approach with no care of whose lives they destroy in the process.
We invited these young men to join the pilot to give them a real chance in life. We would like employers to take a chance on them. Tarring the entire group with the actions of some will only harm their chances.
Research shows 88% of young people re-offend within 12 months of release from a standard youth justice facility.
We should be honest and realistic about the programme’s outcomes.
Three of the youths have allegedly reoffended. I have met these young men, I have invested hope in them, and I am disappointed they have not taken the opportunity to change their behaviour.
But some reoffending is not a surprise. Research shows 88% of young people re-offend within 12 months of release from a standard youth justice facility.
It is precisely this failure that we are now working to fix. If we do nothing this 88% will not only destroy their own future, they will destroy the lives of their future victims. This to me is unacceptable.
The young men in the military-style academy pilot are 15 to 17 years old. They are some of our toughest, most serious, persistent young offenders.
They were 8 to 10 years old when Labour first came to power, a period in which almost all their previous offending would have occurred.
Now there’s a new Government, and the Opposition is suddenly shocked and concerned to hear about young people committing crimes.
While I accept military-style academies are politically contentious, I do not accept that political actors and the media need daily updates on every bad decision made by each participant.
We don’t apply such tabloid-style scrutiny to other young offenders. Take those who offend while under the care of their parents. Will Labour and the Greens expose those offences in the media and Parliament? Will they demand accountability from the parents?
Ultimately, every serious offender is responsible for their actions. But singling out nine young men and making a soap opera out of their lives for political gain will only do harm.
We must turn our focus to the question of how we can offer young offenders real chances, real choices, and real hope.
Military-style academies are a new approach to tackling a long-standing problem of serious youth crime.
They provide more structure and more support than standard secure residences. Unlike previous comparable policies, the academies have a strong focus on transition back into the community, with intensive case management over a 12-month period. Participants are given IRD numbers, CVs, bank accounts and photo IDs.
In fact, this pilot builds on a programme introduced by the previous Government. “Fast Track” was rolled out in late 2022 for offenders between the ages of 10 and 13. It has shown some positive results, and in June we announced another $30.6 million to continue Fast Track and even expand it to ages 14 to 17.
The question I have is: if Fast Track has an 80% success rate, what are the Opposition’s solutions for the other 20%? These are the most serious and persistent youth offenders. They need a stronger and more intensive response to avoid wrecking their own lives and the lives of others.
This is why the Government is piloting military-style academies.
I struggle to understand why the Opposition would rail against a pilot centred on rehabilitation, geared to ensure troubled young people can turn a corner.
Even our most serious young offenders deserve a real chance to live meaningful lives with their whānau and communities, rather than ending up in prison.
