Māori Party backs urgent Bill to supervise deported offenders

The Māori Party will support the passing of the Returning Offenders (Management and Information) Bill which is being pushed through urgency in Parliament this week.

Once enacted, the Bill will create a supervision regime for offenders being returned to New Zealand. The oversight will be similar to the supervision placed on offenders who have committed a similar prison sentence here.

Māori Party Co-leader Marama Fox says, “We have never denied some offenders returning to Aotearoa have committed serious crimes and the safety of whānau in our communities is paramount.”

The Māori Party was consulted on the new supervision regime and provided advice about the need for deportees to have adequate support when they return to Aotearoa.

“Part of keeping our community safe is ensuring that these people are able to reintegrate back into our communities,” says Māori Party Co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell.

Despite the party’s support for the Bill it remains deeply concerned about the grounds for deporting some New Zealanders from Australia and the treatment of detainees in Australia.

Mrs Fox says, “I remain utterly opposed to the Australian Government’s hard-line stance on the detention of New Zealanders, whether or not they have committed major or minor crimes or none at all as we have discovered.

“Many have spent most of their lives in Australia and have already completed their sentences. It is an injustice that devastates whānau here and in Australia.”

ENDS

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