US prisoners went on strike last week to protest the exploitation of their labour. And the conditions they’re protesting aren’t that different to those in New Zealand. Starting on August 21st, hundreds of prisoners in dozens of American prisons declared they were going on nationwide strike. Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, an organisation of prisoners’ rights advocates … Read more
‘Nothing about us without us’ is becoming a popular catch cry of indigenous people the world over. Now the University of Otago is asking for Māori perspectives only on Māori incarceration. Earlier this year, the government announced it will spend $750 million to expand Waikeria prison by 500 beds; build 976 more beds at five different … Read more
It’s encouraging that members of this government finally seem to get it: prisons just don’t work. But what are they willing to do as an alternative, asks Tania Sawicki Mead of JustSpeak It arrived not with bang but a whisper. Plans for a billion dollar mega-prison at Waikeria, a development which would create the largest … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: The government has partly made up its mind on the mega–prison, Māori wards fall short in regional votes, and midwives say the budget boost was too little, too late. The government has made a decision to not expand Wakeria Prison into a so–called mega–prison, but is … Read more