Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on the Greens calling for the release of Dean Wickliffe

The Green Party is calling for Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old prisoner on a hunger strike, to be released.

Wickliffe was allegedly beaten by prison guards at Spring Hill Corrections Facility - and the Greens want him released on compassionate grounds.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper wonders why a notorious criminal needs to be let out of prison under these circumstances. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Very soperc here.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
Hey Berry, good Ryan, I must I say at the
outset that you're always talking about what you're earning. You'll
say you earn a pittance.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
That is true. Exactly if you earned a lot, you
wouldn't tell anyone, would you.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Were you're always complaining?

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Hey, are we softening our anti nuclear stance with India?
What's the story about? Or is it rubbish?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
This it's rubbish. I mean, we're not. I mean if
it means saying something to the extent that Chris Luxen
said to the Indian Prime Minister to soften the Indians
up in some way towards a free trade agreement as Switzerland.
They've got a free trade agreement and they now agree
that they well, they don't say they'll support because India

(00:47):
can't join the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Now, this Suppliers Group's
got nothing to do with weapons. It's about the transfer
of nuclear technology in terms of building nuclear power stations
and the like. Now in the statement that both the
leaders made was they acknowledged the importance of upholding the

(01:08):
global Nuclear Disarmament and non Proliferation Regime. Now that's important
for India because they won't sign the Non Proliferation Pact.
They say it's discriminatory. That's why they won't go there.
I'm not quite sure what they base that argument on. Nevertheless,
they say that, but both leaders acknowledge the value of
India A joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group in the context

(01:32):
of the predictability for India's clean energy goals. Now, without
some sort of nuclear power plants and stuff, you're not
going to achieve zero carbon by twenty fifty and country
after country is now dropping out of that. So for
Chris Hopkins to come out and say, oh, they've put

(01:54):
foreign anti nuclear foreign policy up for grabs is plainly ridiculous.
He's got to look what happens in the context of
all chief shot.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
It's a check shot, but it raises an instant question Barry,
that you can't have all your principles and values and
virtues all at once, can you. I mean, at some
point you've got to click between climate change yet, your
climate change credentials and your anti nuclear starts.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah. Well, I mean in the end, that's what it
probably will come down to, because you can't achieve these
goals without nuclear exactly.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Now, this Comarto Dean Wickliffe aka convicted murderer and then
manslaughter should be released from prison.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
According to Tamitha Paul. Now she's the Green MP. What's
wrong with Wellington Central these days? They gave her more
than a six thousand vote majority there over the Labor incumbent,
who wasn't very good anyway, but you know it's a
relatively important seat and they've given it to this woman.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
They were riding bikes and that you get a lot
of head knocks and you ride a bike.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
I lived in Wellington Central for many years, but it's incredible,
so it's very Green moment. But Dean Wickliffe, he is
one of the most notorious criminals in this country. He
walked into a jeweler's store in Wellington, as we said
the other day, shot a man, shot the jeweler, Peter
met with a pistol and then walked out. Later he

(03:17):
was he appealed as conviction for murder and he got
off a manslaughter saying that he didn't really mean to
shoot him, whereas he walked in with a loaded pistol.
I don't quite know how that went. But nevertheless, the
Green Party, through Tamotha Pool, is calling for the compassionate
release of Dean Wickcliffe, who's now seventy seven. They say

(03:37):
they refer to him as Coomar to her. Now, in
my book, Comar Tour is a respected mildy older. Well,
I don't know how he achieved that status, but nevertheless,
the I think the biggest record that Dean Cliffe, Dean
Wickcliffe has ever had in his life is escaping from
Perima Remo maximum security prison twice. Yeah, I mean, he's

(04:00):
very good at that. But they say, look, he should
be released because you know his protest he's on a
hunger strike exactly.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
But this annoys me Bury because if I can understand
if he was beaten up by a security guard at
the prison, then that should be followed up and out with,
and whether that happens to a murderer or a shoplifter
or whatever. But asking the government to get involved in
the release of a prisoner.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
They said the Minister of Corrections. Now, don't forget Tim
of the Paul is a correction spokesperson for the Greens,
so theoretically in a coalition government she could be the
Corrections Minister. But so you know, she says that people
in prison are human beings and have rights and the
minister has a duty to ensure that those rights are
uphold well. Paul told us on TikTok today, this is

(04:47):
another one of her activities that tonight she'll be talking
about the abolition of the police.

Speaker 3 (04:54):
I'm doing an event at the University of Canterbury with
p Section Autotah to talk about the police and what
alternatives we could have to the police and what radical
kind of police abolition could look like in real terms.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
Anarky. I think the answer to that one is like
an answer that straight away. But look, she is this
police police spokeswoman for the Greens. Along with corrections of course,
so you know she's there to speak about these things.

Speaker 1 (05:25):
They'll get votes out of that. Barry votes.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
Well, if you Green, you may do. Yeah, goodness, God forbid.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
All right, Barry, thank you very much for that very
so pad News Talks'd be senior political correspondent.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to
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Speaker 1 (05:40):
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