Mr Workman (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Rangitaane) will present a seminar on the key historical, political and sociological changes which resulted from the market reforms of the 1980s.
He will also discuss the impact these changes had on police powers, criminal justice legislation, human rights, social exclusion, the marginalisation of the poor and inequality.
The seminar considers the extent to which these factors have contributed to the increasing over-representation of Māori in the criminal justice system over that period. He has been an outspoken advocate for justice reform and worked at a senior level in a number of government departments, including a stint as Head of Prisons from 1989—1993. He established the Rethinking Crime and Punishment project and Justspeak, a young people’s forum for Justice reform.
During his fellowship at Victoria’s Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies, Mr Workman is working on a book on the development of the criminal justice system in New Zealand, Criminal Justice, the State and Māori, which will document the history of Māori in the criminal justice system and examine the relationship between punitiveness and neoliberalism.
From a Search for Rangatiratanga to a Struggle for Survival—Criminal Justice, the State and Māori 1985 to 2015
When: Wednesday 7 October 2015, 4:10pm–5:30pm
Where: McLaurin Lecture Theatre MCLT102, Gate 4, Kelburn Parade, Wellington