7. SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) Link to this
to the Minister of Corrections
Does he have confidence in his department; if so, why?
Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Minister of Corrections) Link to this
Yes, although there is always room for improvement.
How can the Minister continue to have confidence in his department when in the last 7 months it has spent almost three times as much per head on transferring prisoners as it did in the previous year—much of it on commercial airlines—which at the rate of $100,000 a month will lead to a blowout of approximately $1.2 million by the end of the financial year?
Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR Link to this
I acknowledge that there has been pressure on the prison system. We have a very large number of inmates, and from time to time we are required to transfer prisoners around the country to suitable prisons. I reassure the public that at no time has anyone been at risk. The record speaks for itself, and I can reassure the House that the prisoners do not get Airpoints.
Does the Minister agree with the claim on National Radio by Beven Hanlon of the Corrections Association that the Minister’s department is loading prisoners into vans and other transport facilities and moving them around the country because: “While they’re being transported they’re on nobody’s muster, so they’re not actually showing on a muster for a prison, so the prison itself wasn’t over muster until the van got in.”; if not, why not?
Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR Link to this
No, I do not. I assume that what that member is quoting is referring to one incident at Mount Eden Prison about 6 months ago. We have since that time addressed that problem. I do not accept the claims made by Beven Hanlon or by the member opposite.
Chester BorrowsDoes the Minister agree with the claim in today’s New Zealand Herald by his travelling companion in Europe Kim Workman, of Prison Fellowship, that the massive increase in spending on prisoner transfers is further evidence that his department is in crisis, and that rehabilitation programmes are being disrupted by these constant movements; if not, why not?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
No, I do not accept that the department is under crisis, but I do accept that New Zealand has the second-highest incarceration rate in the Western World, and it something that this Government—along with Kim Workman and any other party or person who wants to cooperate—is determined to reduce over time.
Why are some prisoners being transferred to other prisons—sometimes as far as from Auckland to Wellington—only to find they have to be turned round and sent back again, when the Department of Corrections’ own policy states that destination muster levels are considered before a transfer takes place, and that the transfer of a prisoner is agreed to between the relevant prisons before the approval to transfer is given, at least 7 days in advance?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
As I said, there are many reasons that we transfer prisoners, the primary one being that we need to have them secure in a prison cell. The reality is most New Zealanders do not want a prison at their back door, and therefore there often is not a local prison to accommodate those offenders who have been caught and convicted. We have a safe system. There has never been an incident relating to the safety of any of the prisoners who have been transferred by air. We will continue to do that only when necessary.
Can the Minister give this House and the country an absolute assurance that no prisoner has flown on a commercial airline unaccompanied by a Department of Corrections official?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I am advised that every prisoner who travels on a commercial airliner is accompanied by a corrections officer or a staff person.