Sensible Sentencing Trust Rotorua spokesman Peter Bentley said he was very impressed with Budget 2016.
"It's very much steady as you go. It's anticipating good growth over the next three to four years."
Mr Bentley said he would like to see an education programme brought in for younger people beforethey hit the prisons, rather than leaving prisons.
"To teach them that there is a viable future for people that are honest and non-violent. The $356 million to reduce reoffending, well, if they can come up with a plan on how they are going to actually install that system, because we seem to be throwing good money after bad in many of these cases. If we can't turn these people around while they are inside and educate them during their period of being corrected, if they are not willing to help themselves when they have all the time in the world, how do you entice them to do it once they are released?"
