Ryan Bridge: Another dodgy story from Corrections

This prison escape story is fishy as hell. And in the week of cover ups and ass-covering, this walks, talks, and quacks like another one. On Friday last week at 9am, an inmate escapes Mt Eden prison.  But the public isn’t told. No media release. No warning to the public. Radio silence. Then on Tuesday, a media report pops up. It looks like a journo has got wind of this story.  Corrections then confirm a prisoner has escaped but they don’t tell us who or how or anything. Was this guy a murderer? Is he a risk to the public? Why can’t we know why he is?  Four days on the run by that stage and they still hadn’t found him. There’s some BS about safety being the top priority, blah, blah. Then yesterday, a release goes out. They, finally, name him and put out a photo.  Six days after he escaped - they haven’t been able to catch him. They still don’t say if he’s a risk to the public. His name is Paul Kyle Peekay Rehua. A quick google search and you find out pretty quickly why they didn’t want you to know his name, and why they didn’t release it for six days. Paul Kyle Peekay Rehua has escaped from prison before. In 2010. That’s embarrassing for them, isn’t it?  I’ve been asking Corrections for an interview since the story broke. But computer says no. Why? Because there’s an internal review going. So what? You don’t get to hide and cover up your mistakes and wait till the dust settles. You front up and own your mistakes. When this guy escaped last time, Corrections immediately put out a release warning the public not to approach him as he was dangerous and had an extensive criminal history.  This time round, there has been no warning whatsoever. Is he friendly now? Or are they, again, butt covering? For God’s sake, take a leaf out of the Police’s book and front up. The longer you leave this the dodgier it looks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.