High-profile former prisoner Arthur Taylor was outside in the Countdown in Cumberland St when the attack happened.
Over 3500 votes were taken in New Zealand’s prisons at the last election, following the law change to allow some prisoners to vote. That number won’t necessarily mean that 3500 prisoners voted, as the Electoral Commission doesn’t collect the number of prisoners who vote, only the number of votes cast at prison polling stations. A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission urged caution with the numbers saying, “it is not possible to break this number down by sentenced prisoners enfranchised by the law change, and remand prisoners who were already able to vote.
Inmates are getting away with violence because they re not being punished for it, prison staff say.
Assaults against prison staff have been rising in recent years, no matter which way you measure it. Attacks that left staff needing hospital care have nearly doubled since 2016, and assaults overall have gone up from 5.3 per 100 prisoners to 8.95.
National MP Simeon Brown has called for a Government inquiry, which the Justice Select Committee - dominated by Labour - rejected, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis saying he was working with the union on a plan to de-escalate the violence. The assault rates on Corrections officers have just escalated, it s way too high, Corrections Association president Alan Whitley told Newshub. We needed to do something to drive it back down.