Te reo idea a 'suggestion'

Associate Corrections Minister Pita Sharples appears to have softened the entry criteria to his proposed separate Maori prison.

An ability to speak te reo is no longer a prerequisite but still a "good idea".

Dr Sharples, the Maori Party co-leader, wants a 60-bed prison where the emphasis is on healing.

He said that prisoners would have to "earn" their way into the centre with one criterion being learning to speak Maori. The proposed separate prison has caused controversy, with Labour comparing it to apartheid, although National and Act have given it tentative support.

Yesterday Dr Sharples told Radio New Zealand learning te reo was not a prerequisite but a "suggestion".

"It was a suggestion they might like to learn Maori because Maori would be used in this unit along with English and there would be no translations. It [te reo] would be just normal so it would be a good idea for them to be learning Maori."