Justice campaign organisation JustSpeak has outlined a vision for a society without prisons in its 2020 election campaign ‘Our Justice Our Future’. The campaign was launched last night in Wellington, to a sold out audience of supporters and volunteers.

Wellington City Councillor Tamatha Paul spoke at the launch about what justice transformation looked like to her, and the need for politicians to commit to policies that will make a difference for the lives of rangatahi Māori in particular.

“I want a future for Aotearoa that I will have been proud to help to build. We need our leaders to make the changes we need so that we can be good tūpuna for generations to come,” said Ms Paul

Last night’s launch premiered the animated video ‘A Message From 2040’, which JustSpeak wrote and commissioned in partnership with digital campaigning organisation ActionStation.

‘A Message From 2040’ outlines a future where Aotearoa has closed the last prison on Waitangi Day 2040, and the actions and effort required to accomplish that change and build a genuinely equitable society.

JustSpeak’s election campaign centers on a Blueprint for a Just Aotearoa, which sets out three key visions for the justice system and the specific funding, policy and legislative actions needed to achieve these visions.

“We’ve seen a lot of promises but very little detailed policy on justice reform from our political leaders. In the absence of a plan of action from politicians we have developed our own, drawing on the work of experts, advocates and people with lived experience of the justice system”, said Director of JustSpeak Tania Sawicki Mead.

“During the research process, we were surprised at how many solutions for these issues already exist, but which just need to be championed by politicians with the courage to put them into action.

JustSpeak has also created a scorecard which examines the justice policies from all major political parties, and how they stack up against the visions outlined in the blueprint.

“We want this campaign to spur politicians into action. Last election, we heard big promises about fixing our broken justice system, and not a lot has changed. We’re calling on our leaders to commit to a vision for Aotearoa that is worth voting for,” said Ms Sawicki Mead.

More information can be found at: https://www.campaigns.justspeak.org.nz/election-2020

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