Throw away the Key

I was fascinated by how defensive Simon Power appeared when responding Dame Sian Elias' comments on our prison system yesterday. Garth McVicar's comments were predictable but I thought John Key's McVicar-like "we are not going to just open the gates and let them walk out" comment was very telling. Today it was "three strikes" ACT MP David Garrett being very aggressive in his attempts to shut her down.

What interests me is the defensiveness of their responses. Neither of the Nats outlined the government's approach nor did they try to justify policy. Power just tried to bully Elias into shutting-up and Key trivialised the discussion with a ridiculous dog whistle to McVicar's cronies. Both demonstrated a fair amount of insecurity about their position.

I think this insecurity about their position stems from the fact that their position is so insecure. In other words there actually isn't any analytical, reasoned approach to their policies.

What we have seen from many of the new Government ministers have been policy announcements based on nothing more than the minister's opinion. An opinion which might go down well over G&T's with their mates but simply doesn't hold up to any sort of analysis or scrutiny.

Their current justice and prisons policy is a classic. There is ample evidence from all around the world that no matter how harsh or punitive we make prisons they simply don't actually work. Greg Newbold points out in his "The Problem of Prisons" that it makes no difference whether our system is harsh or liberal (and NZ has had a range of responses. We currently have - historically - very long sentences) there is always pretty much a 50% recidivism rate. Half the people who go to prison will re-offend no matter what you do to them while they're in there. As an aside, he points out that almost every prisoner gets out of prison eventually and he'd rather live next to someone who was treated moderately humanely than an ex-prisoner who was brutalised while inside. He also refers to his own history as an example of what happens for at least some prisoners if they are offered a chance at redemption.

Dame Sian Elias knows all this. She knows the research from around the world and the models of justice that do- in some countries - seem to work better than just building more and more prisons. Simon Power, David Garrett and John Key of course don't care for this research and knowledge because it conflicts with their populist stance - the public want 'em locked up so we'll just lock 'em up. Neither of them have a reasoned leg to stand on so they don't bother with reasoned discussion about the issue.

Watch them - they will repeat their "not opening the gates" and "Government makes the policy, judges action it" lines over and over. They won't try to address the real issues or listen to the arguments. Neither, of course, will the telly interviewers or the talk-back hosts.

And as long as we have these guys in power that will be the intellectual level at which these debates take place.