Phil O'Reilly: Former CEO of Business New Zealand on what the government needs to do for boot camps to work

The two teenagers who ran away from the Government's military bootcamps last week have been arrested.

That is after allegedly stealing a car, running from the cops, and one individual trying then to carjack another car with a machete.

But Former CEO of Business New Zealand Phil O'Reilly was on the welfare expert advisory group and says the boot camps do and will work. 

O'Reilly told Heather du Plessis-Allan the government needs to support participants reintegration into society. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we have developments on those two kids who ran
away from the military boot camps last week. They've now
been arrested, but that's after allegedly stealing a car running
from the cops. One tried then to carjack another car
with a machete and when the police searched them they
found knives in balaclava. Is quite apart from the machete
as well. Now, former Boss of Business New Zealand Filler
Ralli was on the Welfare Expert Advisory Group and is

(00:21):
with us.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Now, hey Phil, here you go.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Phil, I'm very well, thank you. Now, do we do
what Labor and the Greens want us to do and
we shut these boot camps down?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Of course, not actually they work. I mean I was
on one, not as participant, but as a sponsor of
one in the John Key government, that version of it,
and that the change. I was not be necessarily an
advocate turning up to see this thing work. But at
the end of it, these kids had had their lives
change for the better and the only issue was afterwards
they just went back to their old ways and this

(00:50):
new one, I'm told, the attempting to solve that issue.
But now these are troubled kids, and they've had tough upbringings,
and so who knew that sometimes they might have gone
and do bad things. And I know that's a terrible
thing that's happen, but you can't blame the whole system
just on that on that issue. And I think we
need to see it through now because I can tell
you from a personal experience of seeing one of these

(01:11):
things in action, they work these tid to walk out
better sober, you know, together, more team build if it's
not on, and they just need support to to realtigrate
back into a better life ahead.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Does this suggest to you that perhaps what needs to
happen here is that whatever the wrap around is, that
that happens once the back in the community, which is
where these two boys were, that needs to be beefed up.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Absolutely. The biggest shar I said to MSD officials when
I was on the last one a few years ago.
What happens now, and this is on graduation day, proud
parents turning up, proud family members turning up. Really great, great,
a great occasion, But but what the officials were saying was,
some of these things are just going to go back to,
you know, whatever they went in beforehand and they're just
going to regress. And sadly I didn't get to something

(01:54):
that many people at the ministry, we're all that supportive
of the whole process, so they were' missus leaning into
making the kinds of changes that are necessary there. This
government's saying, Okay, we're going to have after care, We're
going to have some help for the kids to actually
carry on the good experiences after this process, and I
think that's absolutely right. Well, it worked not for every kid,

(02:15):
but it works for some. I suspect it definitely worked
for some of the kids I saw, and let's make
sure that it can be made to work rather than
getting into some of those brick bats throwing just uti politics.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
I think, yeah, totally listen on that subject. Though the
minister is not talking about this. She has not talked
about this for days now, so I'm reading that she's
feeling the pressure on this. Do you think this trial
can survive it?

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yeah? I think it can, but I think maybe to
see it through, because otherwise all it will happens, they'll
be seeing to us fallen over at the first gate.
As I say, these kids are babised, and in fact
they've gone through tough times, and in fact, the government's
targeting much more of these kind of harder to solve
offenders and harder to solve young people with this particular program,
rather than some of the kids I saw it. We're

(02:57):
just off the rails really, so you can imagine that
there's going to be a few more of these pamps.
I'd caught teasing troubles and through listeners out as one
who's actually seen at work. It does work and I
really hope the comment will see it through and and
say the.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Course, Phil, thanks for expertise, really appreciate it. This filler
Riley formal welfored expert Advisory Group member and as you heard,
involved in the last iteration of the boot camps. For
more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
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