HERETAUNGA HASTINGS – Takitimu Māori Ward council candidate Siiam Daniel has come out strongly against the Department of Corrections’ proposal to expand Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison to accommodate 464 more high-security inmates.

“If this goes ahead, it will become one of the largest high-security facilities in this country and right in our backyard and for what?” says Daniel. 

“It won’t make our communities safer. It won’t address the root causes of crime. It’s a short-sighted, expensive, and harmful response to a complex issue.”

Daniel believes this expansion reflects a government more willing to fund punishment than prevention, and he’s urging local councils to take a stand.

“Councils must push back. We know our people. We know what our communities actually need, and it’s not more prison beds. It’s housing, mental health support, addiction services, whānau care, and real investment in our communities and future generations,” he says.

Daniel points out that prisons have become the dumping ground for the failures of other government departments, while communities are left to pick up the pieces with little support.

“Where is the same urgency when our people can’t access basic services? Where’s the investment when local groups are doing the mahi on the ground with no resources? 

Prisons don’t keep us safe, people do. Community does.”

According to Daniel, expanding the prison will only entrench existing harm, especially for Māori, who remain disproportionately affected by the justice system.

“This is not justice. It’s not rehabilitation. It’s mass incarceration disguised as public safety, and it’s a waste of taxpayer money”

Daniel is calling for greater investment in kaupapa Māori solutions, iwi-led approaches, and healing-based models that uplift rather than punish.

“Our councils must stop accepting harmful government policies by default. We need leadership that protects our people and builds futures not more fences.”

“We need to break cycles, not people.”