Jacinda Ardern
Minister, Arts, Culture and Heritage
Minister, Child Poverty Reduction
Minister, National Security and Intelligence
Prime Minister
Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. It’s another busy week for the Government, but I wanted to advise you in advance that after today I will continue to work, but I will be basing myself in Auckland for the remainder of the week. The suggestion has been that my consistent travel may be tempting fate to a certain degree, so I will be travelling within vehicular distance from Auckland for the remainder of this week.
Tomorrow—just to give you a sense of the week ahead, tomorrow I will be announcing the appointment of the Prime Minister’s new Chief Science Advisor. As will be well known, Sir Peter Gluckman is finishing up his appointment this month, after undertaking the role in a highly professional way and setting out, really, the framework for Chief Science Advisers going forward. But it will be a new chapter to announce our new one, and, as I say, I’ll be doing that tomorrow.
On Wednesday, the Government will be announcing our final decision on the future of Waikeria Prison. And on Thursday, I intend to attend the Fieldays at Mystery Creek—all things being equal.
Today, you’ll see that an announcement has been made around the Duke and Duchess of Sussex making their first official visit together to New Zealand in spring, around the time of the Invictus Games in Sydney. This will be Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first major tour outside the United Kingdom, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to welcome them here to New Zealand as part of that. Now, of course, Prince Harry’s last trip was here in 2015, and this will be Ms Markle’s second trip to New Zealand but, of course, her first in her new capacity. This visit is still in the planning stages, and we’ll be providing further details regarding dates and itinerary closer to their arrival, but, certainly, I’m sure there’ll be excitement around the country at the opportunity to show off all that New Zealand has to offer, both to the royal couple but to what I’m sure will be a rather large entourage as well. I also want to advise you that Cabinet has today determined that our decision point on the future of our deployment in Afghanistan will be taken by September 30 this year. The previous Government agreed in 2016 to extend the New Zealand Defence Force contribution to the middle of this year. New Zealand, as you know, currently has 11 personnel deployed as trainers to the Afghan National Army Officer Academy. Our people have played in a very important part in supporting what is now a 17-year international effort. Now, we have had a presence in Afghanistan since 2001, with over 3,500 New Zealand personnel having served there over almost two decades.
Now, we’ve gone for a three-month extension rather than a one-year roll-over so that we are able to make a number of related decisions over deployments in the Middle East. So this will allow us a little extra time to consider further advice on Afghanistan in light of other deployment decisions, and you’ll know that, of course, the decision around the deployment in Iraq is impending—it comes closer to the end of the year.
I also wanted to expand slightly on some of the decisions around Waikeria and justice reform generally. As I’ve indicated, Cabinet has today reached a decision on the future of Waikeria Prison, which we’ll announce on Wednesday. I won’t say more on that now, but I do want to note there is absolutely universal agreement across all Government parties that our justice system is not working. The American style approach of building mega-prisons and filling them with low-level criminals is not working. We are, as a Government, committed to making our country and our communities safer by reforming the criminal justice system, with a focus, in particular, on rehabilitation and stopping people from entering a life of crime. Of course we need to make sure that the worst, most violent offenders are locked away and that prisons aren’t used as training grounds for lower-level offenders to become hardened criminals, and you’ll see through the work that Andrew Little is leading—which will engage the public through the justice summit that he will be undertaking in August—that we continue to have a focus on taking forward a reform package that takes into account every element of our criminal justice system. It is a significant agenda, and I look forward to seeing that work progress, as do all members of this coalition Government.
[Interruption] Look, I’m happy to take questions. You sensed I was coming to a close, Tover. Go ahead.
Media How disappointing is it that Winston Peters reneged on his support of the repeal of the three strikes?
PM Oh, look, I wouldn’t frame it that way. Cabinet had not made a final decision, and all of these issues are up for discussion and negotiation until the point that we finally settle. We are a coalition Government, and there will be different views. What’s important is that as a coalition Government we absolutely agree that pursuing an American-style form of criminal justice system in New Zealand isn’t working for us and we need to do things differently.