More folly from Tolley? Yep – she doesn’t care what we call the slammer where felons are locked up

The main thing to be mist should be life on the outside.

We can be a colourless and soulless mob, at times, clearly lacking an appreciation of poetry and good language.

Correction. Some of us on occasions don’t appreciate the application of poetic language in palpably inappropriate circumstances.

“Correction” (as it happens) is the operative word in this post.

Alf’s attention has been drawn to this Herald on Sunday report, which kicks off:

A decision to name New Zealand’s biggest new private prison a place to “move out of the mist” is being called “potty” by justice campaigners.

Vexatious litigant is best kept inside for life, although disposing him as a turd would be okay

His only way out should be through this…

Stuff regales us (here) with news of one of this country’s more loathsome individuals.

On a scale of one-to-10 for being reprehensible (10 being the measure of the vilest sleaze) this bloke would score 13 and maybe more.

His name – lest our authorities make the mistake of letting him out one day, opening the prospect of Alf’s innocent constituents bumping into him – is Nicholas Paul Alfred Reekie.

Sorry, Sharon, but taxpayers would rather not cough up to fly your relatives to Argentina

Maybe she would have been more wary if she had been asked to wear this.

Oh dear. The cash-strapped Government – borrowing $250 million a week for each of us to pay back some time – isn’t throwing the stuff around as generously as some people would like.

In particular it won’t come up with the dosh to ensure the “aunty” of an incredibly stupid woman can fly at public expense to Argentina.

The aforementioned incredibly stupid woman is drug-trafficking accused Sharon Armstrong.

Alf, who is a sensitive soul, would not normally belittle people by calling them stupid, let alone incredibly stupid, unless they support the Labour or Green parties.

In this case he makes an exception because he is talking about a self-confessed incredibly stupid person.

She is the 54-year-old former Maori Language Commission deputy chief executive who was arrested on April 13 after Buenos Aires Airport police found (or claim they found) 5kg of cocaine hidden in her suitcase.

The “three strikes” rule – it’s more about scuttling Pita than it is about law and order

Alf is not surprised that the Maori Party is appalled by the Government’s proposed “three strike” legislation, the product of a worthy collaboration between the National and ACT parties to combat crime in the community.

There are electoral implications as well as law-and-order ones.

And Pita Sharples – a politically shrewd operator – will have tumbled to the real intent of the ACT Party.

Nah, it’s not simply to lock up bad buggers. It’s more to weaken electoral support for the Maori Party’s by banging up repeat offenders.

It’s a shame Mrs Meads isn’t with us to give her side of the story about a homicide in Matamata

The Sunday Star-Times has dished up a sickening pot of pap today after tracking down the horse-breeder accused of shooting dead his missus at their Matamata home.

It’s a very one-sided story, because she is not around to give her account of what happened.

The scribe at the SST has allowed the bugger to make the most of Mrs Meads’ inability to put a different spin on things – he is quoted as saying he is “not a killer” and that he “never wanted to see her dead”.

Alf would like the SST to have written a very different story by asking the authorities why the bugger is out on bail.

A curious fascination with foreign felons

Dunno what the Dominion-Post expects us do with foreign law-breakers.

But presumably the newspaper wants something done, because it has made no small effort to establish that taxpayers are spending up to $140,000 a day keeping foreign prisoners behind bars.

So what?

Good question.

But the newspaper has been busy.

Figures obtained by The Dominion Post under the Official Information Act show 558 prisoners who describe themselves as non-New Zealanders are serving time here.

Next time just let him get on with it

There’s lots of clucking this morning about the state of security systems in our courts, after a bloke facing prison on child pornography charges smuggled a knife into court and stabbed himself.

The man had walked past metal detectors at Wellington District Court, which were not turned on, with a knife tucked in his sock.

Metiria’s curious parallel universe

There has been a distinct browning of the Greens, in recent days, with the election of Metiria Turei as co-leader. It’s become more a khaki party now than a green one.

She was banging on this morning about attracting more Maori to her party, thanks to her election, and said something about the Greens always being a pro-Maori party.

Lessons in etiquette behind bars

Associate Corrections Minister Pita Sharples is pressing for the creation of Maori prisons “to help reduce the number of inmates who re-offend when released.”

This follows hard on the heels of the Government’s tabling of legislation paving the way for contracting out the management of prisons to the private sector.

Radio NZ reports:

Dr Sharples, who visited a Maori immersion unit at Rimutaka Prison on Tuesday, says re-offending by those who are involved in the units is lower than the rest of the prison population.

Next please

There’s a delightful (but presumably unintended) juxtaposition of headings on the stroppy Oswald Bastable’s blog.

First, there’s a heading: Back on Sunday.

Then there’s the elaboration: Gone fishing again

And then (if you are of good British stock like Alf and read downwards, not upwards) come the words “Good riddance”.

Nope. “Good riddance” is not an uncharitable comment on Oswald’s blogging.

It’s the heading above a succinct item expressing Oswald’s sentiments on some of the really bad buggers banged up in our jails (sentiments with which Alf strongly sympathises).

It was prompted by the news that Samurai sword attacker and convicted killer Antonie Dixon had died in Paremoremo Prison.

To which Oswald sniffs:

“One down- a number to go!”