Te Pāti Māori to campaign on abolishing prisons by 2040

Te Pāti Māori has confirmed it will head into Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2026 general election with a headline promise to phase out prisons by 2040, arguing that the current system has failed Māori and entrenched intergenerational harm.

The party says it wants to dismantle the existing prison system over the next 14 years and replace it with community‑led justice grounded in tikanga Māori, restorative practices and prevention. Co‑leader Rawiri Waititi has pointed to decades of evidence that incarceration does not deliver rehabilitation or reduce reoffending, describing prisons as “completely ineffective at deterring crime”.

Māori are heavily over‑represented at every stage of the criminal justice system. Corrections data showed that as of 30 November 2025, Māori made up about 52 per cent of prisoners when primary ethnicity was used, and 56 per cent when all reported ethnicities were counted, despite Māori comprising roughly 17–18 per cent of the population. Academic analyses have described this as a long‑running “national disgrace” tied to colonisation, socio‑economic inequality and systemic racism.

Te Pāti Māori’s policy would establish a Māori Justice Authority to take over responsibility for many functions currently held by the Department of Corrections, and expand kaupapa Māori approaches to prevention and healing. The party also wants greater investment in housing, mental health services, addiction treatment and whānau‑centred support as alternatives to incarceration.

The proposal has been met with immediate resistance from the centre‑left New Zealand Labour Party, which is otherwise considered Te Pāti Māori’s most likely governing partner. Labour leader Chris Hipkins has ruled out supporting prison abolition, saying prisons remain “necessary” for corrections and rehabilitation. The Greens have signalled more openness to radical justice reform but have not yet endorsed full abolition.

Commentators note that the idea of moving beyond prisons is not new in Māori thought. Legal scholar Moana Jackson argued as far back as 2017 that many Māori have long imagined different systems of justice rooted in whakapapa, relationships and collective responsibility, rather than punishment.

Even if Te Pāti Māori secures influence in coalition talks, any path to abolition would be complex. Current legislation, existing facilities and the interests of victims’ groups would all need to be navigated, alongside entrenched public fears about crime. But for communities who see whānau locked up at some of the highest rates in the world, the party’s announcement has forced a national conversation about whether tinkering at the edges of the system is enough.