Q+A: Panel response to interview with John Key (03:55)

Published: 11:02AM Sunday October 11, 2009 Source: Q+A

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Response to JOHN KEY interview

PAUL  What do you make of the P policy, it seems very comprehensive, most ambitious.

RON Great announcement and I've got to applaud him he's sincere and he's determined, and I look forward to seeing some results there, I think taking the cross agency approach is the only approach and I had a chat with him before and I said if you're gonna focus on another area - everything you're looking at is good - give the courts some attention, it's about time that the judiciary started giving mandatory assessments as part of their sentence and mandatory rehabilitation as part of their sentences.

PAUL But as he said the courts can't do this because there's nowhere to send them.

RON Well that's because governments in the past closed Hanmer, closed down Queen Margaret, and we need to see some reopening, we need to see an increase in the capacity, we also need to see some commonsense in Corrections, it's not so good to have a department that says the only way inmates can get on a rehab course is to demonstrate that they're clean, that's bizarre, that's stupid.

PAUL  Craig, your view of what you've heard about this.

CRAIG Oh I think it's tremendous and I'm just coming back into the country really disappointed to see the sort of reaction that sort of suggests treatment for a common cold's more important than actually dealing with this scourge.  We did miss the boat ten years ago, and I hope that we won't miss it this time and I'm thrilled with the announcement.

PAUL I worry there's an estimation of how long detoxification actually takes, our experience was about four to five weeks, the amount he was talking, all things being considered in those numbers he announced about the 20 detox beds, we're talking about one and a half weeks detox, which may not be enough, but again of course different people will get different things.

CRAIG It's getting started basically and Ron's right we will need more, we will need more in terms of detox and we will need more in terms of rehab.

PAUL Let me go to the week ahead, Robert.

ROBERT Well I'm looking forward Paul to the despatch of Kurt Campbell who we've just heard, he's visiting both Japan and China and he'll be discussing amongst other things North Korea's stance on nuclear disarmament, and also Asia Security and it appears that Beijing has actually briefed Washington in the interim before Kurt Campbell meets with the leadership of China about the meetings the Chinese have had with the North Korean leader Kim Jong il, they met him last week.

PAUL Lost of interesting things happening coming out of China aren't there, I spose even the attitude to climate change.

CRAIG For me Paul I'd like to see this debate on the reaction to the response to P turned around and have the media and those that have been somewhat negative swing behind because we need to do this together as a nation.

PAUL Gangs can we break them?

RON Look, we need to pass the Suppression of Gangs Act, the template is already there in New South Wales legislation it was passed, it's already having an effect, I hammered the last government about this when I was in parliament, I would desperately love to see this government step up and say, we need to follow the Australian model, we need to outlaw gangs by legislation and we need to clean them out of this country.

PAUL I spose a  huge question - but who the hell are these gangs, who are these  people?

CRAIG Well the easy ones to see are who've got huge patches on their back.

RON Yeah except in Wanganui but then we also know and the Police intelligence knows the white collar ones who drive the BMWs and the Mercedes and are heavily behind the P scourge in this nation, they know who they are.

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