There were some grumblings from the usual suspects in society, but there have been no great cries or campaigns for a complete ban. Most garden-variety Kiwis had simply accepted the change and put the issue to bed.
From a self-determining and liberal viewpoint, which this Government professes to advocate for, shouldn’t everyone have a say on who is running the country? And shouldn’t those imprisoned by the state have the opportunity to voice opinions themselves about how that state is being run?
Apparently not, according to Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith.
“We don’t agree with the previous Government’s [reinstatement] of ... voting for prisoners for less than three years – we thought that was typical of their rather soft-on-crime approach, and we’re going to reinstate a total ban on sentenced prisoners voting,” he told RNZ.
How is further punishing an already prosecuted, convicted and sentenced prisoner an antidote to a soft-on-crime approach?
Rather, this could be seen as a Government simply looking for some low-hanging fruit to furnish its perception that it is tough on crime.
“Obviously, New Zealanders have the right to go and live their lives without being the victims of crime, and like I say, with rights come responsibility. And you know, if you breach those responsibilities to the extent that you’re actually sentenced to prison, well, there are consequences for that,” Goldsmith argued.
Yes, of course there are consequences. Well-established ones. The restriction of a person’s liberty being the most obvious and significant one.
Getting New Zealanders to show empathy with an inmate who has lost their right to vote is difficult. Goldsmith knows this. Much like giving prisoners serving a less-than-three-year sentence the ability to cast a vote didn’t cause much of a fuss, neither will the reversal.
But the High Court has ruled a blanket ban on prisoner voting was an unjustifiable limitation on the rights protected by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The Independent Electoral Review then agreed with the High Court.
Goldsmith talks about a society where there is a balance between responsibilities and rights. We should also want a just society that doesn’t double-dip with its discipline.
What this arbitrary ban appears to be is some red meat for the more spiteful among us.
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