Prisoner Voting Rights

“New Zealand prides itself on being the first place to give women the vote and have universal suffrage, but actually we don’t.”

In this episode, Alice examines the right of prisoners to vote in Aotearoa, a right which is currently denied if you are imprisoned for more than three years. She meets with Awatea Mita, daughter of Merata Mita, who was unable to exercise her democratic right in prison. Mark Mitchell, National’s spokesperson for justice (at the time of record), explains why National brought in the amendment in 2010, and why he still believes it was the right move. But with Māori 11 times more likely to be removed from the electoral roll than Pākehā, perhaps something needs to change. Justice campaigner Julia Whaipooti (who also appears in the Treaty Partnership episode) and Tania Mead from Justspeak share their perspectives, before everything is solved with a charity single.

Next episode

S2020E08 - Treaty Partnership