Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has today announced a $1.9 billion investment in additional law and order measures as Auckland police hunt for an “extremely dangerous” man involved in a deadly shooting on Ponsonby Rd.
Luxon was joined by Police and Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell for the post-Cabinet press conference.
The Government pledged to train 470 corrections officers and add a further 810 beds to Waikato’s Waikeria prison expansion as part of the $1.9 billion investment in the upcoming Budget.
After some confusion about the total beds that would mean for Waikeria, Mitchell’s office subsequently clarified that the 810 beds were additional to the 600 bed already planned for by the former Labour government. Waikeria already has 455 beds, so once the expansion was completed it would have a capacity of 1,865 beds.
The $1.9 billion in spending over years was $1.5 billion in new funding and $442 million in savings made as part of Corrections’ cost-savings exercise. That was as part of the Government’s savings exercise where agencies and departments are required to find 6.5 per cent or 7.5 per cent in spending cuts.
Luxon said restoring law and order was a government priority. “I’m sick of hearing stories about Kiwis who are the victims of attacks,” he said.
He said violent crime was up 33 per cent and retail crime had more than doubled since 2018. He said reducing the number of victims was how the government would measure its success, as set out in its public service targets.
Luxon set out steps taken already, including measures against gangs and three strikes. He said the approach to crime would be linked to social investment, to try to steer people away from the life of crime.
However, he said part of it was ensuring dangerous offenders were not out on the streets. He said the investment in frontline Corrections was only possible because of the savings drive that freed up money for Corrections officers and prison capacity.
On the $1.9 billion overall injection for Corrections, Luxon said there was some commercial sensitivity around the amounts needed for the different components.
Mitchell said Corrections was recruiting more officers now than ever before. He said extending rehabilitation to remand prisoners was important, given 45 per cent of the prison population was on remand.
On the cuts to Corrections to save the $400 million, Mitchell said that was a mix of changing how assets were managed to make it more efficient and reducing positions, including not filling some vacancies.
On the slushie machines, Mitchell said it was a decision for Corrections whether to provide staff slushies, but noted that Corrections officers had to work in hot conditions wearing a lot of kit.
Mitchell said 610 beds would be delivered for the new prison at Waikeria in May, and a further 200 later. It was a decision for Corrections whether they keep the old Waikeria prison open, he said.
Mitchell said Labour had de-commissioned about 400 beds throughout the prison system by not funding them.
“We are building the capacity we believe will meet our needs.”
On increases in Corrections officers, Mitchell said they had changed the recruiting campaign and had almost 20,000 applications, 130 Corrections officers a month were being trained, and that was now out-pacing attrition. Other frontline staff included Corrections staff working in the community and parole officers.
Mitchell said the previous government had only funded about 8000 prisoners and there were 9600 at the moment so it had had to be scaled up. He would not rule out measures such as double-bunking, saying if people deserved to be in prison, they would be.
“We believe we have enough capacity that we don’t have to move to double-bunking. But if we have to move to double-bunking, we will do that.”
On whether they were confident that the $442 million cuts would not impact the frontline, Luxon said he had been clear that the public service had ballooned out and money spent on the bureaucracy was better spent on the frontline.
“The money is interesting to a point, but it’s what you do with the money to get the outcomes.”
He said the brief had been clear to all government department CEOs that they wanted savings in the back office to be re-directed to the frontline. It was up to the department heads to do that.
On yesterday’s Ponsonby Road death, Luxon said it was a tragic set of circumstances but it would be inappropriate to comment further given the ongoing police investigation. He said he had only been briefed on what had been reported publicly.
In an earlier statement, Mitchell said the savings had been reinvested in the “frontline” as it had helped enable the Waikeria extension, alongside boosts in Corrections’ workforce.
“We will also deliver 685 new frontline staff at Corrections, including 470 corrections officers, who will be recruited and trained to respond to growing prisoner numbers.
“We’re investing in pay increases for those staff so Corrections can continue to attract, retain and train staff.”
The Budget, set to be announced on May 30, would also commit $78m to allow prisoners on remand to access rehabilitation services.
Act leader David Seymour, also in a statement, said the announcement delivered on the party’s coalition agreement to fund Corrections to ensure “sufficient prison capacity”.
It comes amid heightened tensions in Auckland as police search for a suspect in the shooting of a man on Ponsonby Rd late last night.
Detective Inspector Chris Barry said a man was denied entry on Sunday night to a Ponsonby Rd bar and lingered on the street before firing a gun multiple times towards a group, killing one man.
Around 10.15pm, a group of four people, including the victim, got out of a car and walked towards the man.
Multiple shots were fired by this man who was of a large build, with dark hair, facial hair, and a large tattoo on his left forearm, Barry said.
“We are urgently seeking information from the public to find [the suspect].”
“This man is considered extremely dangerous and the public should not approach him.”
He said anyone who was helping to hide the man would be prosecuted.
“We know there is unease in the community. We would like to reassure Ponsonby residents that a dedicated police team is working diligently to hold this person to account.”
Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick said she had been briefed by the police’s area commander this morning.
“This violence is shocking and it has no place here,” Swarbrick said.
Deputy Auckland Mayor Desley Simpson said the people of Ponsonby are in her thoughts today.
“This will be concerning for businesses and residents. It’s important to let police investigate thoroughly and I’m sure they will update as further information comes to hand,” Simpson said.
During the election campaign, the parties that formed the coalition Government ran on policies that aimed to reduce crime they claimed had risen under two terms of Labour-led governments.
The Government had promised to increase the number of police by 500 in the first two years and impose more strict laws on gangs. It has also set targets to reduce the number of violent crime victims by 20,000 by 2029 and to reduce youth crime by 15 per cent by 2029.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
The participant's death was unrelated to the pilot, according to Oranga Tamariki.