Act launches election campaign at prison.

The Act party launched its election campaign at Mount Eden Prison in Auckland this morning with a call for people to make their party vote a referendum on crime.

"I have with me today families who have been the victims of crime. Their loved ones have paid the ultimate sentence -- their lives," said party leader Richard Prebble, in a speech at the launch.

He said in the Norm Withers referendum last election, 92 percent of the electorate voted for tougher sentences for violent offenders and for more concern to be given to the victims in crime.

"Labour has ignored the referendum," he said.

"Labour has removed the minimum 10-year sentence for murder ….. Labour has cut in half all short prison sentences ….. Labour has reduced the minimum time a violent offender must spend in jail to just one-third of the court-imposed sentence," he said.

The Act leader also attacked National's election policy on the issue, saying it is not much better than Labour's. "National, in its election policy release, said it would honour the Norm Withers' referendum. And what is National's policy? To go back to the old law of releasing offenders after two-thirds of their sentence," he said.

Mr Prebble said Act is campaigning to put into law the Norm Withers referendum and for offenders to serve their full court-imposed sentence.

Mr Prebble said Act would re-introduce his Truth-in-Sentencing Bill into the next Parliament.

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