Ngawha arrests solve nothing
Green MP Nandor Tanczos today expressed disappointment over heavy-handed tactics to remove protesters at the proposed
Ngawha prison.
Fifty police officers and the Fire Service were called in to remove protestors, car wrecks and makeshift housing which
blocked the main entrance to the controversial and culturally and geologically inappropriate construction site. Five
people were arrested.
"I am concerned by this action. I have written to the Ministers of Corrections and Police to find out who made this
appalling decision and on what basis," said Nandor, the Green Justice spokesperson.
A Department of Corrections official, John Hamilton, claimed it would cost the department $98,000 if the main access was
not cleared.
"The Department of Corrections has already been criticised by the Law and Order Select Committee for being frugal with
the truth. The reality is that poor site selection is the major cause of increased cost.
"They've blown the budget twice over already in their attempts to create a stable building platform.
"The best thing they could do is cut their losses rather than trying to silence local opposition to the prison
"If the department was serious about saving money they would never have chosen this site in the first place."