| Tuesday, October 23, 2012 6:00 AM

In his heyday Luigi Peters drove around the country in his black and white campaign bus railing against criminals. Three strikes and they'd be locked up for the maximum time that the statute books dictated, the judges would have no choice.

Years later ACT, desperate for a cause celibre, adopted Luigi's clarion call and now it's law, but for proscribed offences. At least Peters can claim that he got the ball rolling to get tough with the low lives and a number of them are now poised on their third strike.

Luigi rightly climbed on the bandwagon with a couple of sentences that'd been handed by the courts last week, although he only did the climbing after the sentences were pointed out to him.

One was the inconsistency between the jail terms handed down to an Aucklander who liked the high rolling life and used 15 million bucks of her mates' money to fund it. Jacqui Bradley was sent to the clink for seven years and five months for operating what was in effect a Ponzi scheme.

On the same day in another Auckland court Kefu Ikamanu was appearing for sentence after killing his two-year-old daughter, throwing her against the wall and then stomping on her. He's been sent down for six years and nine months.

Woefully inadequate in both cases, protests Luigi, but particularly so in Ikamanu's case. The Crown wanted up to 13 years for the manslaughter and Peters said the Judge should have taken heed, you can't argue with that. But you could argue with the charge manslaughter which is usually laid when the assailant doesn't expect the victim to die!

And Luigi's had a go at the Kahui case, and the appalling deaths of three month old twins Chris and Cru who should be shortly finishing their first year at school. The police have decided not to pursue any further charges.

No nonsense Coroner Garry Evans found the twins' injuries were inflicted when they were in the care of their father Chris, nevertheless he was acquitted of their murders.

His lawyer Lorraine Smith said Mr Kahui, who has since fathered another child to a different woman, now has the chance to get on with his life. He's never got over the twins' deaths and she says he never will.

Yeah well Luigi says the cone of silence that surrounded the Kahui family immediately after the deaths tainted the evidence which he says is a blight on Maoridom and they should take ownership of it.

They should be bowing their heads in shame, he says.

You can't argue with that!

Photo: Getty Images