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National MP Simon Power has attacked new bail laws, saying they make it easier for people to remain free even if they breach their conditions.
Mr Power's criticism follow the High Court's decision to give Chris Kahui bail under the new law, despite previous breaches of bail conditions.
The new bail laws came into force this week as part of a raft of law changes around sentencing designed to keep prisoner numbers down.
The changes to the Bail Act effectively make it easier for people to get bail, by requiring a "real and significant risk" that the defendant will either fail to appear in court, interfere with a witness or evidence, or offend while on bail.
Under previous law, it was needed only to be shown there was a "risk".
Mr Power said lowering the threshold for bail was a "dangerous experiment that could have disastrous consequences."
"If bail is easier to get, there is the increased likelihood of more people wandering the streets who shouldn't be, and that means the potential for an increase in offending."
The new law also puts less emphasis on whether a person has previously breached bail - allowing the court to take them into account only if they are "relevant to whether there is a real and significant risk" of offending, not turning up at court, or interfering with witnesses and evidence.
Mr Power said since 1999 the number of people failing to report for bail had risen from 3227 to 8097 in the past year - a 151 per cent increase.
"If Labour think it's a good idea to loosen bail on figures like these, they are deluding themselves. It is all about lowering the prison population when their new bail legislation is potentially putting people back on to the streets who shouldn't be there."
Kahui - who is awaiting trial for the murders of his twin babies Chris and Cru Kahui - was the first to take advantage of the new law.
He was put in prison after breaching terms of his initial bail in August, by drinking alcohol and being in the presence of children aged under 12 at a social function. He had also been on a final warning for other breaches, including failing to report to police and answer a bail check.
Justice Paul Heath said Kahui's breaches did meet the "real and substantial risk" criteria under the new law and there was a "medium risk" he could get into a violent incident.
However, he said it would be "unjust" to keep him in prison until his April trial because Kahui was kept virtually in solitary confinement to protect him from other inmates.
He said stricter bail conditions could help minimise the risk, and warned if Kahui breached those he was likely to be returned to prison.
