Today the Government announced a new whānau-centred Māori pathways programme in the Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison.

The Green Party welcomes the announcement today from the Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis for an urgent review of women’s prisons.

Reports of an asthmatic woman being bombed in her cell with pepper spray, being forced to lie face down on the ground to be fed, and having to show used sanitary items to guards to receive more, shows obscene human rights violations that need addressing, Green Party Corrections and Human Rights spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman said today.

The Green Party is pleased with further improvements to the Government’s proposed terrorism law, Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman said today.

The Green Party has negotiated important civil liberties changes in the proposed Terrorism Suppression Bill which will now establish human rights and process safeguards. “We’ve ensured that foreign convictions and deportations won’t be accepted without proper scrutiny and we’ve ended the use of secret evidence without an advocate,” said Golriz Ghahraman, Green Party spokesperson for Justice. “We’ve been clear from the start about our key concerns. Our position in Government has allowed us to negotiate and get agreement from the...

“Today’s report from the State Services Commission shows Government departments colluded with private security firms working for oil and gas companies to spy on New Zealanders,” Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. 

The Green Party welcomes the adoption of a human rights based approach to the upkeep of the Waikeria prison facility, focused on rehabilitation instead of the American-style mega-prison planned by the last government. “We know that imprisonment has failed to reduce crime rates or keep our communities safe. New Zealand needs a new approach and we see this decision as a start,” says Green Party corrections spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman. “The new 100-bed mental health treatment unit, in particular, shows the...

The Green Party is welcoming a report released by the Prime Minister’s Chief Scientist, Sir Peter Gluckman, which acknowledges our justice system is broken and incarcerating more New Zealanders won’t fix it. “This report points the way forward for justice in New Zealand, and fits with what the Green Party has been advocating for some time,” said Green Party justice spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman. “I know, having worked on the frontlines of our criminal justice system, that so-called ‘tough-on-crime’ rhetoric and...

Paula Bennett’s comment that some people have fewer human rights than others is deeply concerning and reflects the National Government’s backward approach to drugs, the Green Party said today. “National are proving once again that they are out of touch, out of date, and out of time to do anything that will actually help us to reduce violence and drug addiction,” said Green Party leader James Shaw. “Human rights are not something you can take away from people because it...