Table of Contents
David Seymour
ACT Leader
The ACT Party has today released the second of our three Discussion Documents as part of our Honest Conversations series.
Gang numbers are up 50 per cent after four years of Labour’s ‘kindness’ approach. We’ve watched as patched gang members have taken over our streets like it’s them and not law-abiding taxpayers who own the place.
Labour’s soft on crime approach has just fertilised the growing gang problem. This is the dangerous side of Jacinda’s kindness. She likes to blame Australia, but only two per cent of new gang members are ‘501s’ sent from there. We need a Government that takes responsibility for what’s happening on its watch.
Today we are announcing a raft of policies to make New Zealanders safer in their communities. We would introduce gang injunction orders, take the politics out of policing, put gang members who receive welfare on electronically monitored spending and get rid of the target to reduce the prison population.
ACT has long put the focus on victims of crime, rather than coddling offenders. We introduced the Three Strikes Law that sent a clear signal to the worst one per cent of offenders: we won’t tolerate repeat violent offending. ACT will fight any attempts from the Government to repeal three strikes.
We have stood up for law-abiding firearms users who have been punished for doing nothing wrong.
ACT has been the main opponent of the Hate Speech laws. Those laws would criminalise people even for insulting someone. The penalties for hate speech would send them to prison for longer than someone who assaults a child. It’s cancel culture on steroids.
We have also put two constructive Member’s Bills in the Ballot that would hit the gangs in their pockets by toughening up the proceeds of crime act and a second Bill that says, no rehab, no parole. It focuses on the many barriers prisoners face to gaining employment post-release, such as poor literacy, numeracy and educational underachievement.
The current approach sees more New Zealanders becoming victims, more costs being incurred for taxpayers, and lost potential for those who end up in a corrections facility. ACT’s policy would help to ensure people released from prison are better equipped with the skills to lead a more productive life upon release.
A good opposition proposes, not just opposes. That’s why today we’re releasing a raft of policies with positive solutions. Because as a country we deserve better. ACT will focus on making New Zealand a safer place.
Our Honest Conversations Law and Order document can be found here.
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