Prime Minister Christopher Luxon maintains his Government’s boot camp pilot is not a failure as he breaks his silence on two participants absconding, not being found for days and allegedly committing several crimes.

The absconding followed the death of another participant in a car accident in Tirau, in Waikato, two weeks ago. New data suggests the teenager was driving one of the three vehicles involved in a crash that also injured more than a dozen people.

The Herald last week revealed the boy had been part of the Government’s military-style academy pilot, also referred to as a boot camp. The 12-month pilot began in July and involved 10 recidivist young offenders undergoing rehabilitation across a three-month phase in a youth justice residence and the remaining nine months in the community.

In the days after the participant’s death and weeks after the transition into the community, one boy escaped from his Oranga Tamariki minders while at his fellow participant’s tangi, before another went missing the following day — Wednesday last week.

They were eventually found and arrested on Saturday alongside two other teens, police alleging the group was involved in an attempted carjacking in Hamilton while possessing weapons such as knives and a machete. Police on Saturday said the matter was before the Youth Court.

Children’s Minister Karen Chhour had expressed disappointment in the alleged actions of the two boys but was relieved they’d been found. She had repeatedly defended the pilot, claiming it had prompted positive changes for some participants in their pursuit of work and education.

Children's Minister Karen Chhour speaks to reporters on developments with her military-style bootcamp pilot programme. Photo / Jamie Ensor

Oranga Tamariki is conducting reviews into both the boy’s death and the absconding incidents.

Luxon, who had refused to comment on the matter last week, today rejected questions asking if the pilot was failing.

Accepting it “won’t be perfect”, Luxon said the programme addressed the “toughest, most serious young offenders” and aimed to make “powerful interventions” in the boys’ lives.

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He said it was up to the boys as to whether they took the opportunities the pilot provided them.

Luxon also noted future boot camps, enabled by legislation currently progressing through the House, could have longer in-residence phases once the new law was introduced.

One of the youth died in a crash involving a car and bus near Tirau which left 13 others injured. Photo / Supplied

“I think that would be good but we’ll look at that next year as legislation comes through.”

The legislation sought to introduce a Young Serious Offender category that was available to judges in send youth offenders to a boot camp programme.

It said a military-style academy order would last between three and 12 months, with the young people remaining in the custody of the Oranga Tamariki chief executive throughout. The military-style programme “will be delivered in an Oranga Tamariki section 364 youth justice residence”.

Asked how much longer he believed the in-residence phase should be, Luxon backtracked slightly.

“I’m not saying we will do that, I’m just saying there will be more optionality as we think about the balance between residential versus community care.

“We haven’t had those conversations because we want to go through this pilot.”

Last week, Chhour criticised Oranga Tamariki for “unacceptable” communication that led to her being unaware when speaking to the Herald that the second boy had absconded.

Luxon today said he “didn’t think it was very flash” from the agency but believed it didn’t diminish the Government’s intentions to rehabilitate recidivist youth offenders.

Asked whether he was comfortable with the level of monitoring during the in-community phase, Luxon referenced the participants who had engaged with education before warning of the alternative of “having them out running amok”.

The comments followed the publication of Ministry of Transport information suggesting the boot camp participant who died in the Tirau car accident was driving one of the three vehicles.

Included in the ministry’s data relating to the fatal incident on November 27, it listed the fatality’s role in the crash as “driver”.

Police would not confirm that detail, citing an ongoing investigation. Oranga Tamariki had not responded to Herald inquiries.

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.