November 14, 2014
Minister rejects taonga ban
Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell is asking questions of the Minister for Corrections and his officials about a decision to strip prisoners of taonga such as pounamu and manaia.
Mr Flavell wants to know whether prisoners will also be barred from wearing crucifixes and other such items.
He says the justification that it’s to prevent theft or standover tactics from other prisoners doesn’t square with what former inmates are telling him.
"Rung around a few people through our networks that we were able to get to, and most of them, Maori in particular, suggested that that's not an issue because everybody respects those taonga as being the taonga that they are. So, we suspect it may be a little bit of overkill on behalf of the Department of Corrections, but are seeking more advice that there's not a possibility of a racial element coming into it," he says.
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