Trans-Tasman authorities have agreed to share critical corrections data on offenders being deported back to New Zealand every year.
Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with her Australian counterparts in Darwin, at a Corrective Services Ministers conference, where the issue of deportees was discussed.
“My fellow ministers and I acknowledged that the safety of the New Zealand and Australian public is paramount. Ensuring we have the right type of information about these offenders in a timely manner is key,” said Lotu-Iiga.
“It is essential that Corrections, Justice and Police have quality information about deported offenders returning to New Zealand so that they know whether they pose a risk to society and determine how they will be managed, monitored and supported appropriately,” he added.
The press release also said that this move is a step forward in the development of a broader arrangement between New Zealand and Australia to share essential information about Trans-Tasman deportations.
Read the complete press release here.
The news was shortly welcomed by some victims of serious crime. Christchurch woman Tina Lawson’s daughter Jade was killed by George McLaughlin, a man who had been jailed for killing a teenager in Australia before being deported in 2001. expressed
Lawson expressed “excited overwhelmed joy” after the announcement was made by the two governments.
“Sadness that it had to come to this but … I didn’t know that, you know, people that were deported back were just given a free lease of life I had no idea.” Lawson said that she has been pushing for these changes.
Around 60 to 100 offenders are deported to New Zealand every year. Majority, according to reports, are from Australia.
