The Government is stonewalling requests for information about its boot camps experiment, while pushing ahead with a Bill to enshrine them into law.

“Karen Chhour needs to front up and shed some light on the state of her boot camps experiment,” Willow-Jean Prime said.

“Just a few months ago, the pilot went haywire with cases of reoffending – and since the truth escaped, the Minister has held a tight grip on information that’s released.

“It’s since been alleged that more reoffending has occurred among those in the pilot, and when questioned about this, the Minister wouldn’t deny but still withheld the facts.

“It wasn’t too long ago that Karen Chhour and Christopher Luxon made a big song and dance in announcing their baseless boot camps promise. Yet, now as the experiment falls to pieces – the PM, just like the facts, is nowhere to be seen on this front.

“If the pilot is going well – what is the Minister hiding?

“The only plausible conclusion is that the evidence never mattered to begin with. That this was a pointless tick box exercise to look and sound tough, while they force the Bill through regardless of the outcome.

“We need to know if these tamariki are safe and getting the support they need to return to their communities. If they are, Karen Chhour should have nothing to hide,” Willow-Jean Prime said.

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