Call to send mosque gunman to Australia

WELLINGTON: The cost of keeping the Christchurch mosque gunman behind bars has reignited calls for him to be sent back to Australia to serve his sentence there.

Newly released Cabinet papers reveal that $3.6 million has been approved to cover the first two years of Australian national Brenton Tarrant’s incarceration, including ‘‘increased security measures’’.

The cost works out at roughly $5000 per day — compared with about $300 a day for a regular inmate.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the high cost was due to the ‘‘extra precautions’’ required with a highprofile, highrisk prisoner.

Speaking to media at Parliament yesterday, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis declined to divulge any further details due to ‘‘operational security reasons’’.

‘‘The cost is what the cost is,’’ Mr Davis said.

Act New Zealand leader David Seymour said the cost was ‘‘completely unjustifiable’’.

‘‘Five thousand dollars a day is a lot of bread and water.’’

New Zealand First leader

Winston Peters agreed the figure was ‘‘mindboggling’’.

‘‘I cannot think it’s justified,’’ he said.

Mr Peters would like Tarrant sent back to Australia to serve his full sentence.

‘‘If there’s an agreement between the Australian government and New Zealand government, it’s very simple to do,’’ Mr Peters said.

National leader Judith Collins said ‘‘the rule of law’’ stated that Tarrant must and should serve his sentence in New Zealand.

‘‘He committed his evil crime here. I think he needs to have his sentence here, even though it costs us a lot of money,’’ she said.

Ms Ardern kept open the possibility that the gunman could be sent to Australia, but said yesterday prisoners typically served their sentence in the country where they committed a crime.

‘‘We’ve never taken it off the table, but we do need to make sure that justice is done here first.

‘‘We haven’t had the sentencing yet. We need to see that through.’’

Tarrant’s sentencing is scheduled to begin later this month. — RNZ