Dr Liz Gordon – Another cat rescued from dangerous tree

I did not really expect to enjoy the justice summit.  Too many people, same old stories, probably not much more than a talkfest.  But actually, I enjoyed it hugely and it gave me hope for the future. I believe in hope.  It springs eternal. And it can move mountains. And maybe the mountains are ready to be moved.

By the way, the National Party behaved like soul-sucking dementors over the summit and attempts to reform justice, even though everyone knows reform must come. I was at a loss to describe how they were behaving, until I read an article by Peter Dunne (who does have a pithy turn of phrase at times), who advised them to “stop barking at every car”.  Exactly. Nail on head. Dem der National dawgs just don’t stop barking, and it is annoying and not very bright. Can I add Greg Newbold to that mix? He has no appetite at all for reform of the system and seems to be stuck in the 1970s view of the prison system, when he was there. His body is free but his mind is still incarcerated.

Three themes emerged for me.  The first and most important was that Māori stated (not for the first time) that Māori offending needed to be dealt with at the iwi and hapu level, within the community, by Māori.  There are strong plans developing on how to do this. This desire is going to form the centre place of a new system of justice in this country, although I cannot imagine at this stage what it will look like.  There is an advisory group and several ministries who have the task of doing this work.

Second, those representing (mostly pākeha) victims of crime have not fully signed up to a programme of massive reform.  I listened carefully to the speakers on this topic. I hear their pain and harm but I cannot imagine how a justice system can heal their wounds.  Nevertheless, the hope that they will come on board for an effective reform process is alive.

Finally, the vision for major reform of the prison system, courts and police processes is immense.  In the last group session, we divided into tables of eight to ‘write a headline’ for twenty years in the future. Our table was keen to signal the end of prisons as we know them, but were also concerned about the victims’ groups, who need to be included.  Our headline was “Victims’ rights groups celebrate closure of last prison”.

We thought we were pretty smart and daring, but in fact by far the majority of the groups wrote ‘end of prisons’ headlines.  But these were not the clever ones. The best one starts this column: “Another cat rescued from dangerous tree”. So clever and written by a group of school students. A runner-up was “Huge snapper caught in Auckland harbour”.  Oh for the day when headlines are no longer about heinous crimes but instead celebrate the daily life of a just and fair New Zealand.

Everything that could be said was said, texted, electronically messaged or otherwise written.  The summit was not a talkfest but was definitely a wordfest. A mandate was passed over to the government for massive reform of the justice system.  The ministers stayed throughout and promised that they too wanted real change, and had heard the messages that had been given.

My comment to the conference was that we did not have to wait for massive change to occur.  We could start changing today. A friendly, welcoming and responsive welfare system, a civil prison system where rules were clear but not abusive, a shift towards the expectation that people will go forth from prison into good lives, far fewer people on remand, family-friendly prisons. There is much that can be done that does not cost and can indeed save money.

The job is dauntingly large, and I expect my enthusiasm will dim over the difficulties of making progress.  I expect I will be dead before the reforms are complete. But I hope in the future 2018 will be remembered as a landmark year for justice reform.

Dr Liz Gordon began her working life as a university lecturer at Massey and the Canterbury universities. She spent six years as an Alliance MP, before starting her own research company, Pukeko Research.  Her work is in the fields of justice, law, education and sociology (poverty and inequality). She is the president of Pillars, a charity that works for the children of prisoners, a prison volunteer, and is on the board of several other organisations. Her mission is to see New Zealand freed from the shackles of neo-liberalism before she dies (hopefully well before!).