ACT Justice spokesperson Todd Stephenson is calling on Green MP Tamatha Paul to clarify her party’s stance on crime and explain her decision to fundraise for the extremist group People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA).

“This is a group that openly calls for the abolition of prisons and the police,” says Mr Stephenson.

“New Zealanders – and especially Ms Paul’s constituents – deserve to know whether this reflects her views and those of the Green Party. If it doesn’t, she needs to explain why she chose to support them by nominating them to receive proceeds from the sale of merchandise featuring her image.

“The question that needs to be answered is what ought to happen to murders, rapists and terrorists if prisons and the police force no longer exist?

“Ms Paul can’t have it both ways. She’s previously claimed not to support police abolition after being challenged by ACT, yet she continues to promote and raise money for an organisation that exists solely to push that very agenda. If she disagrees with PAPA’s goals, why is she using her public platform to amplify and fundraise for them?

“Paul has also stated she’s received ‘nothing but complaints’ about police beat patrols in Wellington. If that’s true, either she’s not talking to normal people, or her constituents have concluded she’s living in La La Land and see no point in engaging with someone so disconnected from reality.

“This group isn’t about reducing crime, it’s about facilitating a descent into anarchy and chaos. Supporting them means supporting an extremist vision for New Zealand’s justice system, where victims are forgotten and dangerous offenders are allowed to walk free.”

Some of People Against Prisons Aotearoa’s policy positions include:

• Abolishing the New Zealand Police
• Abolishing prisons entirely
• Ending reincarceration for breaches of parole, probation, or bail
• Banning incarceration of transgender offenders
• Decriminalising benefit fraud
• Progressively defunding the Department of Corrections
• Repealing three strikes for the worst repeat violent and sexual offenders
• Blocking any public sex offender register

© Scoop Media