# Question 130: For the 2026 New Zealand general election: Compare parties' plans for crime prevention, policing, sentencing and rehabilitation.

Collected 26 October 2026

[NZ Election 2026 · Edition 6 study](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/6)

## ChatGPT

Answer ID: 93c76a56-3cf6-4935-a5c8-f7aa86e35a0c

# New Zealand 2026 general election: Crime and justice policies compared

The key differences between New Zealand's political parties on crime are how they balance prevention, police resources, punishment, victims' rights and rehabilitation.

For the 2026 general election, it is useful to separate four policy areas:

- Crime prevention: addressing youth offending, family violence, addiction, poverty, gang recruitment and repeat offending before crimes occur.
- Policing: police numbers, frontline visibility, investigative capacity, gang enforcement and responses to organised crime.
- Sentencing: prison terms, bail, parole, repeat-offender rules, sentencing discretion and victims' rights.
- Rehabilitation: education, addiction treatment, mental health support, reintegration into the community and reducing reoffending after release.

One important distinction: a party's announced election policy is not the same as a law already in force, and coalition partners may compromise on their proposals. The comparison below focuses on the national political landscape and distinguishes established policy directions from proposals that need confirmation in the parties' latest 2026 manifestos.

## 1. The main parties compared

The clearest documented differences are in sentencing and prison policy. For policing and prevention, the parties also differ in their emphasis on enforcement, early intervention and community-led services.

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Party | Overall justice approach |
| National | More enforcement powers, tougher sentencing, gang restrictions and visible policing. It says it will continue its current law-and-order programme. [Restoring law and order](https://www.national.org.nz/delivered/lawandorder)[NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?](https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news/publications/lawtalk/lawtalk-issue-966/election-2026-special-feature/1-what-are-your-partys-key-objectives-in-the-justice-portfolio/) |
| ACT New Zealand | Stronger consequences for repeat offenders, a focus on victims' rights, and more police enforcement, including a proposed three-strikes rule for repeat burglary. [NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?](https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news/publications/lawtalk/lawtalk-issue-966/election-2026-special-feature/1-what-are-your-partys-key-objectives-in-the-justice-portfolio/)[LawTalk 966](https://embed-rech-01.dialog.cm/nzlawsociety/docs/lawtalk_966_2026_election_special) |
| New Zealand First | Mandatory minimum sentences for serious offences, tougher parole eligibility, stronger action against organised crime and life without parole for specified murder offences. [NZFirst Law and Order Policy Announcement: Tougher Sentences, Degrees of Murder, Smashing Organised Crime, Life Means Life](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nzfirst_law_and_order_policy_announcement_tougher_sentences_degrees_of_murder_smashing_organised_crime_life_means_life) |
| Labour | A different political tradition from the current government's sentencing programme, with greater emphasis historically on prevention and rehabilitation. Its precise 2026 positions on each justice measure should be checked against its latest detailed policy. [Better Starts Now](https://www.labour.org.nz/election-policy-pages/2026-election-policy-summary-pages/better-starts-now/)[NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?](https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news/publications/lawtalk/lawtalk-issue-966/election-2026-special-feature/1-what-are-your-partys-key-objectives-in-the-justice-portfolio/) |
| Green Party | Generally associated with addressing social causes of offending, restorative justice, rehabilitation and reducing reliance on imprisonment. Confirm the details against its current 2026 justice policy before treating any specific measure as a new election commitment. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Major structural change to the justice system, including a proposal to abolish prisons by 2040 and replace the existing model with Māori-led, community-based justice. [Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons. The idea is not just a fantasy](https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/30-01-2026/abolish-prisons-by-2040-te-pati-maori-says-the-real-crime-is-keeping-them)[Te Pāti Māori promise prison abolition in new justice policy](https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/09/te-pati-maori-promise-prison-abolition-in-new-justice-policy/) |

These are differences in policy direction, not a ranking of which party would reduce crime most effectively. The table also does not imply that every party has published a fully costed, detailed policy in all four areas.

## 2. Policing and crime prevention

### National

National's approach centres on visible policing, enforcement and disrupting gangs. Its published record includes restoring Three Strikes, expanding police powers against gangs, and increasing police time spent on the beat. The party reports reductions in violent-crime victimisation and serious youth offending during its term, although those figures are the party's own measures and do not by themselves establish that any one policy caused the changes. [Restoring law and order](https://www.national.org.nz/delivered/lawandorder)[38,000 fewer victims of serious violent crime as gang laws mark one year](https://www.national.org.nz/news/20251121-hon-paul-goldsmith-thirtyeightthousand-fewer-victims-of-serious-violent-crime-as-gang-laws-mark-one-year)

### ACT

ACT's 2026 justice priorities include stronger enforcement against gangs and illegal firearms, and 100,000 additional rural police patrol hours each year. Its policy also includes stronger responses to rural crime, including livestock theft and poaching. [NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?](https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news/publications/lawtalk/lawtalk-issue-966/election-2026-special-feature/1-what-are-your-partys-key-objectives-in-the-justice-portfolio/)[LawTalk 966](https://embed-rech-01.dialog.cm/nzlawsociety/docs/lawtalk_966_2026_election_special)

### New Zealand First

New Zealand First's October 2026 package proposes a dedicated organised-crime agency, additional police resources and stronger measures against transnational criminal networks. It frames the protection of victims and communities as a central purpose of policing. [NZFirst Law and Order Policy Announcement: Tougher Sentences, Degrees of Murder, Smashing Organised Crime, Life Means Life](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nzfirst_law_and_order_policy_announcement_tougher_sentences_degrees_of_murder_smashing_organised_crime_life_means_life)

### Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori

For these parties, it is important to distinguish general approaches from specific 2026 commitments:

- Labour: its detailed current justice proposals need to be checked before attributing particular police numbers, gang measures or prevention programmes to its election platform.
- Greens: the party's broader approach has emphasised prevention and addressing underlying drivers of offending, alongside rehabilitation and restorative approaches. The exact 2026 funding and implementation proposals require verification.
- Te Pāti Māori: its announced justice direction centres on Māori-led justice and community-based alternatives to the existing prison system. Its 2040 prison-abolition proposal is a structural reform proposal, not a claim that serious offending would simply go without a response. [Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons. The idea is not just a fantasy](https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/30-01-2026/abolish-prisons-by-2040-te-pati-maori-says-the-real-crime-is-keeping-them)[Te Pāti Māori promise prison abolition in new justice policy](https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/09/te-pati-maori-promise-prison-abolition-in-new-justice-policy/)

The central question for voters in this area is whether a party prioritises more enforcement capacity, early intervention to prevent offending, or a combination of both—and how it intends to fund and measure those efforts.

## 3. Sentencing, bail and parole

This is where the parties' proposals are most concrete.

| Issue | National | ACT | New Zealand First |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Repeat offending | Restored Three Strikes for specified serious offences | Proposes Three Strikes for Burglary, including a minimum three-year sentence without parole for a third conviction | Proposes wider use of mandatory minimum sentences |
| Serious violent crime | Tougher sentencing rules and limits on sentence discounts | Emphasises consequences and victims' rights | Proposes substantially longer sentences for specified violent offences |
| Murder sentencing | Existing life-sentence framework, with further reforms to be checked against current policy | Focus on accountability and serious offending | Proposes degrees of murder, including life without parole for first-degree murder |
| Parole | Retains a stricter law-and-order approach | Supports consequences for serious repeat offending | Proposes raising parole eligibility thresholds |
| Sexual offending | Proposes abolishing good-character assessments at sentencing for all sexual offending | Supports stronger consequences for serious sexual offending | Proposes more mandatory minimum sentences for serious sexual offences |

Sources: the parties' election statements and the New Zealand Law Society's October 2026 justice-policy comparison. [NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?](https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news/publications/lawtalk/lawtalk-issue-966/election-2026-special-feature/1-what-are-your-partys-key-objectives-in-the-justice-portfolio/)[NZFirst Law and Order Policy Announcement: Tougher Sentences, Degrees of Murder, Smashing Organised Crime, Life Means Life](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nzfirst_law_and_order_policy_announcement_tougher_sentences_degrees_of_murder_smashing_organised_crime_life_means_life)[Restoring law and order](https://www.national.org.nz/delivered/lawandorder)

New Zealand First's proposed murder categories include life imprisonment without parole for first-degree murder and a minimum non-parole period of 30 years for second-degree murder. Its policy announcement also proposes a minimum eight-year non-parole sentence for causing death through a coward punch. These are proposals, not all existing law. [NZFirst Law and Order Policy Announcement: Tougher Sentences, Degrees of Murder, Smashing Organised Crime, Life Means Life](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nzfirst_law_and_order_policy_announcement_tougher_sentences_degrees_of_murder_smashing_organised_crime_life_means_life)

### How do Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori differ?

- Labour: Labour's leader has explicitly rejected abolishing prisons, arguing that prisons remain necessary while also providing rehabilitation and other services. [Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons. The idea is not just a fantasy](https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/30-01-2026/abolish-prisons-by-2040-te-pati-maori-says-the-real-crime-is-keeping-them)
- Greens: The party has expressed support for addressing socioeconomic disparities in the justice system and the disproportionate imprisonment of Māori and women. [Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons. The idea is not just a fantasy](https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/30-01-2026/abolish-prisons-by-2040-te-pati-maori-says-the-real-crime-is-keeping-them)
- Te Pāti Māori: Its proposed replacement of the existing prison system by 2040 would represent a fundamental change to how serious offending is dealt with, rather than simply adjusting sentence lengths. [Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons. The idea is not just a fantasy](https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/30-01-2026/abolish-prisons-by-2040-te-pati-maori-says-the-real-crime-is-keeping-them)

A useful distinction when comparing these proposals is between deterrence (whether a penalty discourages offending), incapacitation (preventing someone from offending in the community while imprisoned), and rehabilitation (reducing the likelihood of further offending). These are different objectives, and a policy can pursue more than one.

## 4. Rehabilitation and reducing reoffending

![Rehabilitation programme | Prisons | Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/ymeCWYdBd19JX4JHVK7vcnGqY8V_nAye1priSIsIXex855jLd-cX3pM8JhOiRLxusAT7By38wvHZfQLJgZorrTjbN8Zc_Di0_rErwT8PbjRPRli1RdpjmoguJvdRhvCpHShG9OUq3YmMuzbBqEbvB8uZtrpv2AReMm9XvhetRig?purpose=inline)

National and ACT

Their current policy direction prioritises accountability and public protection, while retaining rehabilitation within the justice system. An important question is how much additional support they would provide for addiction treatment, education, employment and reintegration, particularly for repeat offenders. [Restoring law and order](https://www.national.org.nz/delivered/lawandorder)[NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?](https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news/publications/lawtalk/lawtalk-issue-966/election-2026-special-feature/1-what-are-your-partys-key-objectives-in-the-justice-portfolio/)

![Youth justice family group conferences | Oranga Tamariki — Ministry for Children](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/9nxZ4llHymTucms0XBh_Q3dlKH0GeY-PZm2QnE5gAzyxbJdaWO0MoaPe1XTV2ln0dLBk-9cbNUjh_EiqD2DMUv3V5L1G1zH2uxB8zsyta0-p2NrFWV16aLnyAKrdHVFMNdHTjBXUcjhnbxD9FHpB1k0TfmJQRmGcq8_X7MjAM6g?purpose=inline)

Labour

Labour rejects prison abolition and maintains that prisons have a role in rehabilitation. Its wider policy emphasis on health, employment and opportunity is relevant to prevention, but those general commitments should not be mistaken for specific, funded crime-prevention programmes. [Better Starts Now](https://www.labour.org.nz/election-policy-pages/2026-election-policy-summary-pages/better-starts-now/)[Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons. The idea is not just a fantasy](https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/30-01-2026/abolish-prisons-by-2040-te-pati-maori-says-the-real-crime-is-keeping-them)

![Righting Wrongs the Maori Way - YES! Magazine Solutions Journalism](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/3mn7Sc-p114xS8G0to5qZpvtRHTvuKM_1oQgyhaMND8mAjQs2zeb22v-EZZm1p_trQwilBv7zeGMyV4BqMEYgACAoFo8rLGYGCgVOcuarQeS1LdSSXdirJNr9AWt5Wp6RbRSLO0ivffKoouOQVPuo1MvclyD4usgMDK37BNxXJ0?purpose=inline)

Greens

The party's approach places greater emphasis on social causes of offending, restorative justice and reducing disparities in imprisonment. Its stated concerns include Māori over-representation and the growing number of women in prison. [Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons. The idea is not just a fantasy](https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/30-01-2026/abolish-prisons-by-2040-te-pati-maori-says-the-real-crime-is-keeping-them)

![Te Hui Oranga 2024 revives Pacific solidarity against threats to moana – Te Ao Māori News](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/iyC21Sw_ke-i2wzNQljabpJtpQxNIVGv5d_AhxXPytoAX_fakKH7eSVGOAR2ldr-AN7slciNISEiOCg44E3lSEQa0mJfzyrkhjOKr-olV85sd7-yjrDnI6bcvDcXEU5S-EeV99vyOn7jRJLgLTlTi54ByHm9dgyhA81Y05wiCFQ?purpose=inline)

Te Pāti Māori

The party proposes shifting substantial resources from prisons, police and courts towards Māori-led justice, prevention, rehabilitation, reintegration, mental health and addiction services. Its policy proposes abolishing youth justice residences by 2030 and prisons by 2040. [Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons. The idea is not just a fantasy](https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/30-01-2026/abolish-prisons-by-2040-te-pati-maori-says-the-real-crime-is-keeping-them)

New Zealand First's published October package focuses much more explicitly on punishment, victims' reparation and organised-crime enforcement than on a new rehabilitation programme. Its announcement does not, by itself, establish that the party would eliminate existing rehabilitation services. [NZFirst Law and Order Policy Announcement: Tougher Sentences, Degrees of Murder, Smashing Organised Crime, Life Means Life](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nzfirst_law_and_order_policy_announcement_tougher_sentences_degrees_of_murder_smashing_organised_crime_life_means_life)

## 5. What to compare before deciding

Four practical questions can help you examine the policies beyond their slogans.

### 1. Will the party prevent crime before it happens?

Look for specific commitments on youth offending, family violence, school engagement, addiction treatment, gang recruitment and support for people at risk of offending.

### 2. Will police have the capacity to respond?

Compare funded officer numbers, response times, investigative resources, rural coverage and measures against organised crime—not just announced powers.

### 3. What happens to repeat and serious offenders?

Check the actual proposed rules on sentencing, bail, parole and sentence discounts, including how the policies distinguish serious violence from lower-level offending.

### 4. What happens after prison?

Look for measurable commitments on addiction treatment, literacy and qualifications, employment, housing after release, victim support and repeat-offending rates.

## Official sources to follow

These are useful starting points for checking the full proposals and updates as the campaign continues.

- [National — 2026 election policies](https://www.national.org.nz/policies?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [Labour — 2026 election policies](https://www.labour.org.nz/election-policy-pages/2026-election-policy-summary-pages/better-starts-now/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [ACT — official website](https://www.act.org.nz/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [New Zealand First — official website](https://www.nzfirst.nz/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [Green Party — official website](https://www.greens.org.nz/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [Te Pāti Māori — official website](https://www.maoriparty.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [New Zealand Law Society — 2026 election justice-policy comparison](https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news/publications/lawtalk/lawtalk-issue-966/election-2026-special-feature/1-what-are-your-partys-key-objectives-in-the-justice-portfolio/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Bottom line: National, ACT and New Zealand First put greater emphasis on enforcement and tougher consequences, with differences between their specific sentencing proposals. Labour rejects prison abolition, while the Greens and Te Pāti Māori place more emphasis on structural reform, prevention and alternatives to imprisonment, with Te Pāti Māori proposing the most fundamental change to the prison system.

The central policy trade-off is how parties propose to balance immediate public protection and accountability with preventing future crime and reducing reoffending. The details of funding, implementation and measurable outcomes matter as much as the stated direction.

## Gemini

Answer ID: bbce6f60-6e36-4ff4-bb98-2d6cd7d9d205

For the **2026 New Zealand general election**, law and order, public safety, and justice policy feature distinct ideological divides between political parties. Parties approach crime through vastly different lenses, balancing between retributive deterrence ("tough on crime") and public health/social welfare prevention models.

---

### Overview of Party Positions

| Party | Crime Prevention & Social Focus | Policing | Sentencing & Corrections | Rehabilitation & Harm Reduction |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **National Party** | Focus on family integrity, welfare reform tied to work, and parental accountability. | Expanding frontline presence; targeted initiatives such as dedicated public transport security teams (e.g., Auckland public transport). | **Tougher sentences:** Removing good character discounts for sexual offending; removing the right to silence in child murder cases; cracking down on gangs and patches. | Emphasises personal accountability and consequences, with less emphasis on systemic decarceration. |
| **Labour Party** | Early intervention, family and domestic violence prevention, and addressing socioeconomic drivers of crime. | Support for resourcing frontline police and specialized response units. | Balanced sentencing; strengthening protections and legal frameworks around domestic and sexual violence. | Focus on breaking cycles of abuse, supporting specialist non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and community-based rehabilitation. |
| **Green Party** | Root-cause prevention: addressing poverty, housing instability, and mental health access. | Skeptical of carceral expansion; advocates for community-led safety alternatives. | Justice reform focused on lowering prison populations; legislative changes such as criminalizing coercive control. | **Health-led approach:** Broad drug reform (such as reviewing or replacing the Misuse of Drugs Act), scaling up mental health and addiction services, and restorative justice. |
| **ACT New Zealand** | Focus on individual responsibility, economic freedom, and reducing welfare dependency. | Backs resourcing police to target high-crime and violent offending. | Strict penalties for violent and repeat offenders; prioritization of public safety over offender rehabilitation metrics. | Open to evidence-based harm reduction where economically efficient, but generally leans toward stricter penal consequences. |
| **New Zealand First** | Strong emphasis on public safety, cracking down on retail and violent crime, and supporting victims' rights. | Boosting frontline police numbers (e.g., recruiting hundreds of new officers). | **Victim-centric sentencing:** Prioritizing victim safety over offender rights; examining standalone offenses like coercive control; tougher penalties for gang activity. | Targeted funding for specialist support agencies (like Women’s Refuge); skepticism toward broad decriminalization while backing specific regional addiction support. |
| **Te Pāti Māori** | Whānau-centred wellbeing, systemic equity, and addressing the drivers of Māori over-representation in the justice system. | Moving away from traditional punitive policing toward community-led and Māori-designed safety frameworks. | Decarceration policies; repealing laws that disproportionately affect Māori; cultural accountability measures. | **Kaupapa Māori solutions:** Rebuilding Māori-led health and justice authorities; shifting resources entirely toward holistic healing, cultural safety, and social support. |

---

### Key Thematic Differences

#### 1. Crime Prevention
* **Right-of-Centre (National, ACT, NZ First):** Prevention is primarily framed around deterrence, visible enforcement, swift rule-of-law consequences, and targeting visible public disorder (such as gang patches, public transport security, and retail crime). 
* **Left-of-Centre & Progressive (Labour, Greens, Te Pāti Māori):** Prevention is viewed through a socio-economic and public health lens. They emphasize tackling poverty, housing instability, mental health distress, and early childhood or domestic intervention programs to stop crime before it occurs.

#### 2. Policing
* Parties across the spectrum generally support maintaining or growing frontline police numbers, but differ on *how* police should operate. 
* National and NZ First emphasize tactical deployment and specialized units (e.g., transit security or gang taskforces). Conversely, parties like the Greens and Te Pāti Māori advocate for shifting certain emergency responses away from armed police toward health, mental health, and community-led social workers.

#### 3. Sentencing
* **National and NZ First** advocate for a "tough on crime" approach, pushing for higher sentencing thresholds, restricting judicial discretion in certain contexts (such as removing good-character discounts for sexual crimes or limiting rights to silence in severe child abuse cases), and prioritizing public safety over offender rehabilitation.
* **The Greens and Te Pāti Māori** campaign against prison population growth, favoring rehabilitative frameworks, addressing systemic biases within the courts, and introducing alternative sentences that keep offenders connected to their communities and culture.

#### 4. Rehabilitation & Harm Reduction
* Debates heavily feature drug reform and support for victims of family and sexual violence. 
* Progressive parties push for health-based drug laws, decriminalization or regulatory alternatives, and expanded addiction treatment spaces. National and NZ First concentrate heavily on supporting victim-support NGOs (like Women's Refuge) and enforcing strict penalties for supply, while maintaining caution around widespread drug legalisation.

***

*Are there specific aspects of these party platforms—such as youth justice, drug policy, or regional policing strategies—that you would like to explore further?*

## Google AI Mode

Answer ID: ba10a469-d921-401b-bbde-543374f6c15e

For the 2026 New Zealand general election, political parties diverge significantly on law and order, splitting between tougher punitive and deterrent frameworks versus preventative, community-led, and systemic approaches.

**ACT New Zealand**

 * **Core Approach:** Put victims first, restore strict consequences, and target repeat offending.
 * **Policing & Prevention:** Proposes 100,000 additional rural police patrol hours annually, tougher penalties for livestock theft and poaching, and improved 111 text coverage in remote rural areas. [New Zealand Law Society]
 * **Sentencing:** Advocates expanding tough sentencing measures, including a "Three Strikes for Burglary" policy (imposing a minimum three-year sentence without parole for a third burglary conviction), alongside maintaining and extending current coalition measures like gang patch bans and reinstated Three Strikes laws. [New Zealand Law Society]

**New Zealand First**

 * **Core Approach:** High deterrence and severe accountability for serious and violent offenders.
 * **Sentencing:** Pledged a formal degrees-of-murder regime that increases minimum non-parole periods (raising minimums from 10 to 20 years for certain serious classifications) and introduced 'life means life' provisions. [RNZ]
 * **Self-Defence & Public Safety:** Announced intentions to investigate implementing 'stand your ground' self-defence laws regarding property and personal safety, alongside support for military-style academies and youth justice demerit frameworks.

**Te Pāti Māori**

 * **Core Approach:** Described as "hard on healing rather than hard on crime," focusing on systemic transformation and the complete overhaul of the penal system. [WhichParty NZ]
 * **Sentencing & Rehabilitation:** Pledges to abolish all New Zealand prisons by 2040, replacing incarceration with community-led, whakapapa-based healing, kaupapa Māori mental health support, and restorative justice.
 * **Prevention & Structural Reform:** Proposes establishing an independent Māori Justice Authority, raising the age of criminal responsibility to 16, and redirecting prison funding into community-based trauma and social rehabilitation.

**Labour Party**

 * **Core Approach:** Focuses broadly on early crime prevention and socioeconomic drivers, while acknowledging past criticisms regarding the pace of addressing youth crime.
 * **Sentencing & Corrections:** Leader Chris Hipkins and party spokespeople have rejected radical penal abolition (such as Te Pāti Māori’s prison phase-out), affirming that prisons remain necessary for public safety and targeted rehabilitation. Labour's primary campaign emphasis heading into the late-2026 voting period has concentrated primarily on cost-of-living, health, and economic stability while framing general law-and-order positions around prevention.