OPINION: What total buffoons. Incompetent, box-ticking wallies. I'll get to Kelvin Davis and Correction CEO Christine Stevenson shortly but do our Corrections staff and managers live under a rock?
They must be deaf and blind and their heads filled with concrete not to have seen the heightened sensitivities around the capture, jailing and court proceedings involving the alleged Christchurch gunman Brenton Tarrant.
- Alleged Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant sent seven letters from prison
- Alleged Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant's letter from prison revealed
- 'This cannot happen again': Prime Minister and Corrections Minister respond to alleged Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant's letter
The red light, the sensitive, button is on at all times. Don't let him have a platform not in court, not from his prison cell, not anywhere.
From the PM down, all these people have said - in such strong terms - silence him, don't mention his name, don't allow his hate to spread beyond his own deluded skull.
So what do we do? We give him some so-called basic human rights to pen a letter and we then send it for him.
Not sure he got fast post but he got "man we're dumb post" to send it.
Man we're dumb for letting this letter out of the prison.
Sure, write it, but then grab it and hold it at the prison.
He has no right to that letter being sent. It basically amounts to "fan mail". That's sick. There are plenty of reasons under law the Corrections Department can withhold his letter at the jail.
We look like an international joke.
Amateur hour in New Zealand's prisons - that this didn't send a red flag or alert to just one of the many Corrections officers or managers is beyond belief.
Christine Stevenson is the CEO of corrections. What does she know?
Questions must be asked.
The law doesn't need changing, we just need some big uniformed officer in the prison to hold the letters in the top drawer marked 'must not be sent, ever'.
The prison is allowed to use its discretion. From now on, use it.
Duncan Garner is host of The AM Show.
