8. GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) 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, but there is always room for improvement.
Why did it take 2 weeks after Graeme Burton first breached his parole conditions on 5 December for the probation service to seek a recall to prison, as section 61 of the Parole Act enables, when the police had told the service that if Burton’s parole was not revoked and he remained in the community he would kill someone?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
All the details surrounding that tragic incident are currently under inquiry by way of a number of investigations. It is not appropriate for me to comment on them at this point.
Madam SPEAKER
Hon Phil GoffCan the Minister confirm, in respect of having grounds for confidence in the major function of a prison, which is to keep its prisoners secure, that, in fact, prison escapes have been reduced by 78 percent in the last 10 years compared with when National was in Government, and can he confirm that that very good track record is notwithstanding quite major growth in the prison population because there are tougher laws and more police?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I can confirm that, in spite of a 68 percent growth in the prison muster numbers, we have had a reduction of 78 percent in the number of people who have escaped since the former National Government was in charge of prisons.
Why did the probation service not seek a warrant for the arrest of Graeme Burton when he first breached parole by reporting in on the telephone rather than in person when they knew from the police that he was not living where he was supposed to be, and why did they believe that sending him a warning letter would reach him when they knew he was not living at the address that they sent it to?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
The Department of Corrections is on record with its response to that. There are, however, inquiries under way that will check all the details around the timing and actions of probation staff, the police, and anyone else involved in this tragic incident.
Was Graeme Burton on special offender warning system alert, for which the probation service operations manual requires immediate action following serious or repeated acts of non-compliance; if so, was action not taken to recall Graeme Burton to prison because probation officers did not understand the powers they had?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I repeat, those issues are all under investigation. I can confirm that the offender was on the offender warning system and that immediate action was taken when they had that information at hand.
Can he confirm that the crucial psychological assessment of Graeme Burton prior to his release advocated a “carefully managed release under close supervision”, and can he honestly stand up in this House and claim that that is exactly what his department provided, when Graeme Burton was able to amass a stockpile of military style weapons, and commit aggravated robberies and other offences, before he was deemed to have breached parole?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
There were a large number of conditions associated with the parole of Mr Burton. It is not for me to prejudge which of those may or may not have been breached. That will be the result of the inquiries currently under way.
Why on earth does he have any right to continue being the Minister of Corrections if he does not have an opinion on how well his department has handled this matter, and if he is not prepared to accept some responsibility for a tragedy that has hurt many, many people—not to mention the victim himself?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I am not prepared to judge the performance of my department based on speculation by the media nor on accusations by members of the National Party. I will await the outcome of the inquiries.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I would ask you to please reflect on that answer. The Minister appears to be telling us that the well-known facts around the situation that saw Graeme Burton commit offences that have a high amount of tragedy surrounding them, were somehow just a fabrication by the media and that he is not prepared to comment on them. Why on earth is he still the Minister?
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. This is not for this occasion, but I noticed that you called Mr Brownlee then realised that Mr Goff was on his feet, and that you changed your decision and called Mr Goff before Mr Brownlee—a point I was making at the start of today’s question time. Perhaps you could have that in the future.