Labour opposes Act pledge to increase prison numbers

Labour under Chris Hipkins has worked to reduce prison numbers. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins is opposed to the Act Party’s proposal to increase the size of the prison population.

Act wants to add more than 2000 prison beds by 2027, increasing incarceration to levels last seen in 2017.

The Labour-led Government has worked to reduce the size of the prison population

Labour’s goal to reduce the prison population by 30 per cent by 2033 had already been achieved 10 years early. It costs around $150k to keep a person locked up in prison - an increase of $30k from 2018-1019.

On Saturday, Chris Hipkins said he was not interested in increasing prison numbers, but he was open to reviewing electronic monitoring devices.

Act Party leader David Seymour with Mike Hosking in the Newstalk ZB studio. Photo / Michael Craig

Act leader David Seymour said additional prisoners could be accommodated in existing facilities where staffing levels had been run down.

But he did acknowledge that a new prison - at a cost of more than $1 billion - might be needed, but said that would be for Corrections to determine.

Last month, Seymour released Act’s law and order policies.

Seymour has promoted the party’s law and order policy in a media standup outside a dairy ram-raided in April.

Seymour said Act would ensure tougher sentences for serious crimes, increase the capacity of the prison system and put victims back in the centre of the justice system.

The policies promised to disqualify gang members from holding a firearms licence, and impose tougher sentences for crimes on vulnerable workers.

Seymour said it aimed to restore balance to a system that was too focused on criminals instead of victims.

“A compassionate government looks to protect those who might find themselves to be victims first, and then aims to rehabilitate offenders. That is what Act is proposing.

“Act believes protecting the safety and property of New Zealanders is the government’s first and most important job.”