February 01, 2024
Prison riot posturing low point for Kelvin Davis
In his farewell to Parliament, former Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis said the lowest point in his parliamentary career was the Waikeria prison riot over the new year break in 2021.
Mr Davis is bowing out after entering parliament on the Labour Party list in 2008, coming back in 2014 and then winning Te Tai Tokerau in that year’s election.
He says while he was trying to respond to the riot in which prisoners burnt the high security unit to the groups, Opposition MPs were holding press conferences at the prison gates.
“The worst thing you can do is head down to the prison, stand at the gates in front of media and posture and grandstand. During the riot those MPs who did just that actually increased the risk to corrections officers, emergency services and other prisoners because it encouraged not just those in the riot but prisoners in other prisons who feel the way to grab a politician’s attention is to riot elsewhere,” he says.
Kelvin Davis, who also held the new portfolio of Maori Crown Relations, gave his colleagues a history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and warned them whenever politicians came for Maori and tried to put them back in their box, Maori had never backed down.
the House that, “Each time you come for us, each time you try to put us back in our box, we will not back down, we never have and today is no different.” says Davis.
He thanked his collegues and staffers before exiting the House without waiting to haruru.
and then
used his valedictory speech on Wednesday to give Parliament a detailed history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi warning the House that, “Each time you come for us, each time you try to put us back in our box, we will not back down, we never have and today is no different.” says Davis.