October 27, 2021 3:00pm by David Farrar

The $46 million riot

Stuff reports:

The cost of the Waikeria Prison riot has been released and is in the millions of dollars, according to a National Party MP.

Simeon Brown said in a statement that the Department of Corrections’ Annual Report shows the costs of the six-day riot is $46 million.

The riot at Waikeria Prison, about 40 minutes south of Hamilton, started on December 29 and lasted six days.

The rioters set fires, about 200 other prisoners had to be evacuated, and the structural integrity of the 110-year-old “top jail” was seriously damaged.

So the taxpayer gets a bill for $46 million because authorities wouldn’t send in a riot squad to end the riot. Tear gas and water cannons are there for a reason!