Rhys Eden Delamere is not one to sugarcoat his views, especially on youth boot camps: “Every naughty shit needs to go there.”
His blunt declaration reflects his image of his 20-year-old self as a ‘total loser’ and his belief in targeted tough love, shaped by personal experience – because for Delamere, boot camp worked.
It was his turning point, his ‘hail Mary’ of redemption. “I’m so glad I did it. So glad I did it. It’s a pivotal moment in your life,” he says.
Delamere delivers his candid assessment from his cafe in Taumarunui, where he envisions his future as a series of golden roads leading to bright lights. He acknowledges that the path behind him leads directly back to the day his parents enrolled him in a Limited Service Volunteer (LSV) course in 2012.
The six-week LSV courses, run by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), are cited as the blueprint for the Government’s new 12-month military-style academy – commonly referred to as ‘boot camps’ for young offenders. An initial pilot is underway in Palmerston North.
Face of the Day
“I would love to speak about this. I would speak about this in front of the whole of New Zealand, of why I think... it’s a good opportunity. All these re-offenders need this because they need to get out of their bad habits. You know what I mean? Get away from it, brother. Get away from it.”
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An Agenda Drives the MAPAS
For all the talk about mirroring demographics and countering disadvantage, race-based entry programmes to our medical schools rest on a highly contested political ideology of separatism that, for obvious reasons, is rarely presented to the general public as its underlying rationale.
Proudest Legacy. Selective Memory.
They invented the scheme, waited for National’s homework, forced the boss, softened the worker and skipped the cut they cried about.
Wind It Up Or Make It Binding.
One side wants a finish line. The other wants an unelected veto. Wind it up or watch them put it above you.
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An Agenda Drives the MAPAS
For all the talk about mirroring demographics and countering disadvantage, race-based entry programmes to our medical schools rest on a highly contested political ideology of separatism that, for obvious reasons, is rarely presented to the general public as its underlying rationale.
Proudest Legacy. Selective Memory.
They invented the scheme, waited for National’s homework, forced the boss, softened the worker and skipped the cut they cried about.
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