PHOTO
The government's controversial bootcamps bill is poised to become law, after passing its third and final reading under urgency on Thursday night.
The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill gives the Youth Court the power to sentence serious young offenders to bootcamps, officially known as Military-Style Academies (MSA).
The legislation is one of the government's key interventions against youth crime.
During the debate on Thursday night, Minister for Children Karen Chhour said the status quo was not good enough, with too many young people "causing significant harm to victims and creating fear in our communities".
The new law would provide stronger responses to serious offending while creating opportunities for youth to address the causes of their behaviour, she said.
"The new military-style academy order will be the most intensive response available to the Youth Court. The order combines structure, discipline, education, therapeutic support, and transition planning.
"Ultimately, this legislation will help create less victims and make our communities safer.”
Speaking in opposition to the bill, Labour's Willow-Jean Prime said her party would scrap the legislation if it came to power after the November 7 election.
"Here we are in the final days, the final hours of this parliamentary term, sitting under urgency, and this government is rushing through the final stages of this legislation.
"Does this government just ignore all the evidence and all the experts, and continue to push ahead their political agenda?
"This is about politics and rhetoric, punitive, tough on crime, tough on children approach.”
Green MP Tamatha Paul said the legislation was a result of "electioneering and campaigning, primarily by the ACT Party".
She said Sir John Key's National government had tried boot camps — and they did not work.
"This is a response to a campaign against the most vulnerable young people in New Zealand, and it doesn't align with what the actual evidence says around youth crime, and that is why it is a moral panic."
National's Joseph Mooney criticised opposition MPs speaking out against the bill.
"There's nothing like listening to speeches from the other side to really underpin the point that they have no life experience.
"This policy is to provide a faster, targeted, and more stronger and rehabilitative response to serious and persistent offending for 14 to 17-year-olds with two or more privileged offences punishable by 10 or more years of imprisonment."
The court must be satisfied that "previous interventions have been unsuccessful, and the young person is likely to reoffend", he added.
Children's Commissioner Jane Searle said she was disappointed to see the bill pass.
While she welcomed investing in young people with complex needs, she did not believe Military-Style Academies were the answer.
"The name itself reflects an approach that is inconsistent with what we know works best for children and young people.
"You cannot march young people into good behaviour."
Searle said investment must be focused on therapeutic, trauma-informed and evidence-based services that address the underlying causes of offending.
Pilot programme scrutinised
Opposition parties have raised concerns about a pilot programme throughout the legislative process, questioning how many participants remained in the two iterations of the pilot, as well as the rate of reoffending.
The first version of the pilot programme saw some success, but an evaluation noted the implementation was rushed, and 7 of the 10 youth involved reoffended.
The second iteration was currently operating with youth who were taking part voluntarily. Two had already left.
Under the new law, those ordered to take part in MSAs won't be able to leave, except under extreme circumstances.
Prime questioned the purpose of the pilot, given the legislation was introduced in November 2024 - before the pilot had "even been completed".
She also asked how young people would be able to leave the academies, saying the minister could not say what met the criteria for compassionate grounds.
