Friends, 

While public attention is slowly growing around the secretive use of PERD, PERU, and TNOC regimes in our prisons — Corrections is now trying to legalise and expand these very same practices through new legislation.

The proposed Corrections Amendment Bill (Extreme Threat Prisoners) would:

Formally entrench PERU (the solitary unit at Auckland Prison) into law

Allow ongoing 22–24 hour lockdowns with no meaningful activity
Enable staff to seize or destroy prisoners’ property
Block access to complaints and restrict visits — all without transparent oversight
Give the Chief Executive unchecked power to label someone “extreme threat” with no court or external review

These regimes have already been heavily criticised by the Chief Ombudsman, the Inspectorate, and international human rights groups.

 The Ombudsman said PERU’s conditions amount to “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” — breaching both New Zealand law and the UN Convention Against Torture.

 Why This Bill Is So Dangerous

It gives legal cover to abuse that already exists.

It ignores all warnings from oversight bodies who have investigated PERU and called for its urgent reform — not expansion.
It removes accountability, offering no real exit path for prisoners labelled “extreme”.
And worst of all, it makes secret punishment legal — without proper public or Parliamentary scrutiny.

 What You Can Do

Please continue to share this petition. We need more signatures from New Zealanders who care about justice, human rights, and transparency.

Submissions on this bill are currently open and we’ll be submitting this petition directly to the relevant authorities as part of our response.

Let’s stop this abuse from being written into law.

In solidarity,

Rebecca

Sign & Share ➜ https://chng.it/PnsPCsxCYq