David Bennett - Corrections

15 August 2019

Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis should have sought assurances his department was taking every step possible to keep the public safe from the alleged Christchurch gunman, National’s Corrections spokesperson David Bennett says.

“A good Minister would have asked from day one what was happening around correspondence, visits and prison status. This should have been monitored weekly by the Minister so Corrections knew how seriously it should have been taking this.

“Five letters is not a one off mistake, it is incompetence. A Minister is responsible for making sure their department is taking all necessary steps.

“Mr Davis has said this morning that New Zealand has never had a prisoner like this. Given that, he should have questioned his officials as soon as he was locked up about what procedures they had in place and been kept regularly updated.

“Mr Davis says he’s now looking at a law change. The reality is, there are already laws in place which should have been used to stop this from happening.

“Mr Davis now needs to ensure there is help and support in place for the victims of the shootings who may have been re-traumatised by this news.”

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