Removing prisoners' voting rights backward step, says Labour, Greens

Opposition MPs are slamming the coalition government's plan to remove voting rights for prisoners, saying it is "ridiculous" and "stupid", but the prime minister says he "does not care" what the courts have said about the plan.

The government has announced it will reverse a law change made by Labour in 2020 which allowed prisoners serving less than three years to vote in general elections.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says Cabinet agreed to reinstate a total ban on prisoners voting in general elections, dismissing a ruling from the High Court and recommendations from the Electoral Commission and Waitangi Tribunal.

Speaking to media today, Prime Minister Christoper Luxon said he was not concerned about the recommendations.

"I do not care what anyone else says about it.

"As New Zealanders, we have right and responsibilities to each other. If you want to cause harm and suffering on fellow New Zealanders and find yourself in prison because of it, that means your right to vote is withdrawn."

But Labour's Justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said it was "ridiculous" and he could not believe this was a government priority.

"We changed the law because the Supreme Court told us that denying prisoners voting rights was a breach of the Human Rights Act."

Webb said the issue was "utterly trivial" for the government to be focusing on.

"There's 2000-3000 people out there who can vote in prisons.

"I find it extraordinary [the government is] spending legislative time on these kinds of issues when there's much bigger issues at play out there."

He said the coalition wanted to "vilify people who go to prison". Webb said people do go to prison, and they "should go to prison", but they still had to return to the community.

"To not only incarcerate them, but to take away their right to participate in our democracy is not helping them still be a part of our community and have a stake in what is going on in New Zealand."

Webb said it was "just not necessary" to take away this additional right, given a lot of rights were removed when people went to jail.

"It's a bit of dog whistle politics," he said, "and it's not helpful to add to an 'us and them' mentality."

He also said the 'tough on crime' rhetoric was dangerous, because it did not solve the drivers of crime, which were mental health, addiction and poverty.

Greens Justice spokesperson Tamatha Paul said the move was "stupid" and did not make communities any safer. She was also surprised this was a priority for the government, given the "big issues that real people are dealing with".

Paul said the move was about the coalition trying to look "tough on crime" and "tough on people in prison".

"In reality, voting is something we want all people to do.

"If the purpose of our corrections system is to make sure people are reintegrated back into society, then surely making sure there are good voting habits is part of that."

She said it was also important that people who were going to "inevitably come back out into the community" were able to be part of deciding over who made the rules in that society.

"I think this is a stupid waste of time."

Paul said the punishment for breaking the law is serving time in prison, and taking away people's ability to participate in their democracy is a "backward move".

"Ninety-nine percent of prisoners are going to come back out into society at some point or another."

She said she saw voting as a "responsibility", rather than a "privilege", and to take it away from people in prison served to "further alienate that group of people".

Paul said she did not see what purpose it served. "It does nothing except further erode the civil and social rights of people who are incarcerated."

"I just don't think it's an issue a lot of people think about.

"When things are really expensive, and people are really struggling - they're not thinking, I know what will make my life better? If people in prison can't vote."

The Greens want more people to be eligible to vote, which would include lowering the voting age.

"What we would do is expand our democracy so more people are eligible to participate within it, so we have a more representative group of people representing us as Aotearoa."

Te Pāti Māori said it was a "shameful step backwards".

Justice spokesperson for the party Tākuta Ferris said: "Denying the right to vote does not strengthen society - it weakens our democracy and breaches Te Tiriti o Waitangi."

Ferris said voting was not a "privilege to be taken away - it is a fundamental human right".

"Stripping whānau of their right to participate in democracy only deepens the cycles of marginalisation and injustice that our people have been subjected to for generations."

He said the government was "locking people up for what they wear, increasing sentences across the board, and now they are telling those people that they have no right to participate in the system that has incarcerated them".

Ferris said the justice minister had been advised his policies will make the "overrepresentation of Māori in prison" worse.

He said Goldsmith was "knowingly disenfranchising Māori" and should be ashamed of himself.

Te Pāti Māori would reinstate this right for all whānau in Corrections facilities to vote.

"Once again, National is showing that their vision for Aotearoa is not one of transformation, healing, or fairness - it is one of punishment, control, and division," said Ferris.

'They haven't contributed to our society'

But the Sensible Sentencing Trust has applauded the move.

Spokesperson Louise Parsons said prisoners have lost their right to be part of a "functioning society" because of the crimes they'd committed, "so why are we giving those rights back to them while they're in prison?"

"They've had their say, and they haven't contributed to our society.

"Rather than wanting to vote, why don't they concentrate on doing some rehabilitation so they don't reoffend when they come out."

Parsons said once people do leave prison, "they can vote then," because the ban is "not forever, it's only while they're incarcerated".

"Prison is not a punishment," Parsons said, "it's the taking out of society that's the punishment."

She said while people were in prison, they had to be "looked after" and had "opportunities to rehabilitate". There could be a discussion about the right to vote during these opportunities, she said.

"But all the while they're not doing that, and they're coming out and reoffending - they shouldn't have the right to vote."

Parsons had an issue with the message sent to the "criminal fraternity" by allowing them to vote.

"We've had a very, very woke government for the past six years, and we're all living with the damage of that now.

"The government has got to send a clear message out that actually, we're more for the victims, not the perpetrators."

Parsons wanted the ban to go further, and wished the government would extend it to those on home detention.

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