Posts by Gareth Ward
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Fair comment Graeme - the "any two violent offences" skipped by me when I read it and it's not a great piece of detail journalism. It certainly should have said anyone sentenced to more than 5 years (it was 5, right?) in both cases for second violent offences.
But the comments still stand and given who they were from I would expect an understanding of the policy. They are the sort of discussion on the positives of parole that seems to be missing so far... -
Gareth: Sorry.
AND SO YOU SHOULD BE, WHOLE THING IS A PINKO COMMUNIST LIE CONDONED BY THE POLICE TO RUIN MY REPUTATION.
Sorry, just trying out that centre-right blog thing. Not going too well, will get back to you... -
Jeremy I think there are individuals that put more emphasis on economic growth, freedom of the market to achieve it, a more conservative/"hardnosed" social policy, less of a progressive tax approach etc that can actually argue a reasonable and considered line.
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and by centrist I mean "less inclined to run a partisan line for the hell of it/willing to see other views/nuanced in their analysis"
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Jeremy: I'm not too concerned about the centre or left-right dichotomies (I can barely position myself on some kind of spectrum, let alone others) but different people clearly come at things from a slightly different policy and politic angle.
All I'm saying it that it would be useful if those that you could perhaps consider further "right" had a reasoned and centrist commentator - I know the individuals exist, just not many writing significant blogs that I can see.verbwrangle: I believe it was Jeremy that raised that point...
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verbwrangle: With all (very very) due respect to Mr Brown, I think a blog whose lead-in posts were created by a reasonable centre-righty would offer a different flavour to simply having those reasonable centre-rightys comment on here.
And when you're as flip-floppingly centrist as me it would be nice to have that slightly different angle on things. I trust Mr Brown doesn't object to the suggestion he's to the left of centre...
Craig: Linky him no work for Therese Arseneau? She sounds interesting tis all... -
I'd love someone to ask National (hopefully they will at some point) who they had advising on this no parole malarky. Because corrections and law-type folks don't seem that impressed:
Corrections Association president Beven Hanlon, who represents prison guards, said the policy would make prisons unmanageably violent because inmates would no longer have the possibility of release.
"As soon as you take that glimmer of hope away, what else can you do to them? You create animals."
Kris Gledhill, of Auckland University's law faculty, said the policy seemed to target a group of people unlikely to be released anyway.
Any concerns about the rigour of the parole process should be dealt with by training the Parole Board and ensuring it had enough information in front of it.
Keeping prisoners in jail when they were old and infirm was unnecessary, hugely costly, and inhumane. "It's just not right."
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I'd really like it if a centre-right version of PAS were to start up but I can't see it happening.
Seconded. A thousand times over.
I actually think it drives my political leanings too - when there is very little consistent reasoned debate coming from one side of the political spectrum it colours your view somewhat.
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Are we all familiar with the number of people currently in prison for murders committed after they served time for an earlier murder?
I believe it's three.
According to this, Burton is the only one ever?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10432311
Burton... is believed to be the first New Zealander to have been sentenced to jail twice for murder, although there have been others that have killed two or more people. -
Anyone tempted?
The best bit about that is the blank space on his left arm with what I think is the state of Texas in it? Ha.
"Yeah man, totally want like, zombie over my whole body. Oh yeah, and Texas".