Di WhiteDi White

Di White works in human rights, with a focus on gender and police culture. She has a background in the law, with an interest in access to justice and prisons. She is based in Melbourne, but has vowed to return home if she sees one more snake.

Kelvin Davis is NZ’s best hope for prison reform in decades

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New Zealand’s prison population is ballooning, and no politician seems to have any good plan to stop it – except Labour deputy leader Kelvin Davis, writes Di White. For almost two decades there has been a ring fence around prison policy in New Zealand. It’s a high fence – you can’t climb over it by … Read more

Let’s stop pouring money into prisons. They don’t work. And there is an alternative

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As New Zealand’s prison population passes 10,000 for the first time, the abysmal failure of NZ’s imprisonment culture must be confronted. Ahead of a hui in Wellington tonight, Di White argues for a new approach Imagine this: it’s 2016 and the government has announced a $1 billion package to build a new cancer treatment facility … Read more

The NZ justice system chucks 17-year-olds in with adults, and it is a stain on our reputation

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New Zealand 17-year-olds can’t vote, buy alcohol, gamble or marry. So why are they treated as adults once they’re arrested, asks Di White. Like an overachieving youngest sibling, New Zealand seems to be forever jumping up and down on the international stage, eager to be noticed and congratulated for its achievements. Whether it’s Lorde, our … Read more

I arrived in Australia to a warm welcome. Others are met by the ugly face of sanctioned inhumanity

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On the second anniversary of her migration to the Lucky Country, Di White is moved to tears by Chasing Asylum, an acclaimed new film about Australian refugee policy. It’s been two years since I moved to Australia. I arrived on a plane on 4 June 2014. I remember the day well. I was moving between … Read more

Corrections and clarifications – unpicking Judith Collins’ prison number explanations

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Opinion: the minister’s tough-on-crime agenda is at odds with much of the wider direction on justice and corrections, writes Di White. “Explaining” is not a mode politicians tend to enjoy. Following the release of new figures that show the prison population at a record high, the recently reappointed Minister of Corrections, Judith Collins, went into … Read more