Minister for Children Kelvin Davis has defended the Labour Party's new youth justice facility rules.
Yesterday the Government announced it would push through new laws to toughen rules in youth justice residences while also promising to build two new "high needs" units.
A string of security failings over the past year at the Oranga Tamariki-run residences has seen youths break out of facilities with demands tabled for their caregivers.
New rules would place youngsters in secure care when staff are worried about potential "mass disorder incidents" with greater powers for "non-invasive" searches.
But the Government's received plenty of criticism over the new rules, with ACT leader David Seymour labelling it as "half baked" and National's justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith saying the flurry of new law and order announcements showed the Government was "scrambling" ahead of the election.
Asked about Seymour's comments this morning, Davis told Breakfast: "Of course he's going to try and make hay while the sun shines, that's what you do when you're in opposition."
Davis said there needs to be more focus on preventing young people from commiting crimes in the first place.
"That's the part that I have to play with the youth justice facilities. When a young person has committed a crime and a judge decides they need to go to a youth justice facility, I need to make sure that what goes on in those facilities meets their needs so that they will be rehabilitated.
"There are consequences but also rehabilitation and also addressing all the trauma and the things that those young people grew up with that probably led them to committing the crime in the first place."
Davis said it's "not an either or" and that the Government has to work for the young person from a young age.
"[It's about] making sure they have the care that they need so they don't go on to re-offend and they don't carry on in the pipeline through into Corrections."
'Crime's completely out of control' - Luxon
Also speaking to Breakfast this morning, National Party leader Christopher Luxon said crime in New Zealand is "completely out of control".
Asked about Labour's new youth crime rules, Luxon said the Government is "just deciding to get tough on crime two months out from the election".
"It's just not credible, it's been made up on the fly, it's a total shambles and it's not a comprehensive set of policies to deal with reducing crime which is what New Zealanders want us to do."
It comes after Labour announced new youth justice facility rules. (Source: Breakfast)
Asked if National's crime crackdown plans are any more detailed than Labour's, Luxon said his party has been "really proactive".
"We're actually saying we've got an idea, we're going to have serious consequences for serious young offenders, we'll use the existing regimes and penalties.
"There's serious penalties there already that aren't being used. We've seen a doubling of retail crime and we've seen youth prosecutions down 10%. The Government's not using the remedies it already has available.
"On our military academies, we're saying very clearly look at the staffing issues you've had in Oranga Tamariki. We have great leaders and mentors in the military that are outstanding. They'll work alongside community organisations that will be embedded with them to work on numeracy, literacy, addiction issues, trauma issues, and then those community organisations stick with those young people when they come out."
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