3. 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, but there is always room for improvement.
How can there be any credibility to his claim that corruption amongst prison guards is not a widespread problem when, in addition to the current investigations at Rimutaka Prison and Christchurch Prison, four guards assisted convicted rapist Trevor Robinson to have a conjugal visit with his girlfriend while on a hospital visit; or is it now acceptable for guards to provide this service?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I take these allegations extremely seriously. Four Department of Corrections officers have been placed on leave and are likely to be suspended today. The prisoner had to be taken to hospital for medical reasons, and the officers were given a very clear set of instructions on how the prisoner was to be supervised, including how to manage visits. It appears these instructions were not followed.
Hon Phil GoffDoes the Minister have greater trust and confidence in his department today because prison escapes have fallen by 78 percent in the last 10 years, and because he does not need to make the excuse that his National predecessor did in 1999 that people were in prison simply on trust?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I can confirm that escape rates have dropped by 78 percent since 1998, and that I have far more confidence in the Department of Corrections. However, there is always room for improvement, and we will continue to make changes.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
Can the Minister tell the House which party was in Government when the Department of Corrections was split from the Department of Justice, and which party privatised by contract the movement of prisoners in New Zealand; and has he received any reports from that party as to the monumental mistakes they themselves have made?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I can confirm that in 1997 the National Government split the Department of Corrections away from the Department of Justice in an attempt to continue the privatisation of every Government department—in the same way they privatised the railways, attempted to privatise housing, and anything else they could lay their hands on.
Can the Minister confirm that prison staff assisted convicted rapist Peter McNamara to father a child by smuggling out his semen from jail; and does he stand by the comments from his own managers, who simply shrugged it off and said that it was not illegal?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I do not accept those comments that it was not illegal. However, the doctor implicated in the case has actually denied participating in any such procedure.
Ron MarkDoes the Minister agree that a transparent process is important when dealing with corruption, and does he now agree with New Zealand First that the only way to deal effectively with corruption in his department is to ensure that officers found to be corrupt not only lose their jobs but are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and, if found guilty, sentenced, even if that means going to jail, where they can occupy the same cells they have been supervising for the last few years?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I treat any claims or accusations of corruption with the most serious of efforts. That member has assisted and brought information to me. We have passed that on, and we will work with the police to identify, catch, and prosecute anyone in the corrections system who may in any way be conducting inappropriate or illegal behaviour.
Does he agree with the Prime Minister’s statement: “I think the deprivation of liberty means precisely that”; if so, how can the public believe that he or his Government is really in touch with what is going on in our prisons, when prisoners get access to R18 movies, KFC, P, PlayStation games, and LCD TVs, and when they can even get guards to help them with conjugal visits?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
We take very seriously all areas of responsibility within corrections, and we will continue to make changes to improve the system to provide a higher level of security and better outcomes from corrections than ever occurred under the National Government.
Have improvements been made to security in prisons, such as in the prison in Simon Power’s electorate, Manawatū Prison, from the days under a National Government, in 1997, when the Evening Standard reported that a typical week would see 20 to 30 nocturnal visitors making deliveries to inmates, usually by striding over a farm fence and walking up to the cell block windows?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
As a measure of the illegal activity taking place in prisons, a random drug test is usually fairly accurate. When the National Government was in power, random drug tests identified over 30 percent of people using drugs in prison. That level is now down to 13 percent—a huge improvement.
Can he tell the House today exactly how many inquiries into corruption are going on in his department, given that he initially told Radio New Zealand National that he did not know, then he said there were three investigations, only to have his staff call Radio New Zealand National to say that, actually, there were only two investigations—how many investigations are there today?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I cannot provide the exact number, but any allegations of corruption will be given the highest level of priority and investigated thoroughly.
How does the Minister explain conflicting comments from his department regarding recidivist sex offender John Clarke, who is described by the Parole Board in its decision to release him as not presenting “an undue risk to the safety of the community”, despite being described by the Department of Corrections as having a “high risk of reoffending”; and why is the Parole Board not being made to take heed of the advice of the department—or is that just another gap that this House needs to legislate to fill?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
As has been publicly announced on a number of occasions, we are looking to make law changes to ensure that the Parole Board is in receipt of all relevant information to assist it to make the right decisions. In this case I believe that the Department of Corrections analysis was indeed accurate.
Nandor TanczosIs the Minister’s confidence in his department diminished at all by the review of the Parole Board, when it states that the Burton case “raises a question as to whether the Board’s expectations were reasonably capable of being resourced by those responsible for supervision.”; and, given the longstanding concerns around monitoring and enforcement of parole conditions, what is the Minister doing to ensure that parole conditions mean more than a hill of beans?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
We have recently issued clear instructions that any possible breaches of parole will be dealt with by immediate action and contact with that parolee within 24 hours, and that the reporting times for people on life parole or the offender warning system will be weekly until all the terms and conditions of their parole have been met. It is always a challenging area for those probation officers; we will continue to support them to ensure they do the best job possible.
Is the Minister seriously telling this House that he has no idea how many investigations there are into corruption in New Zealand’s prison system; indeed, if he is not telling the House that, will he please tell the House how many investigations are currently going on into corruption in New Zealand prisons?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
I am aware of investigations at Christchurch Prison and at Rimutaka Prison. But I would expect that any claims, or any suspicion, would be dealt with immediately, initially by the prison managers, and that is why I am not in the position to identify the exact number at this moment.
Has the Minister seen evidence and reports stating that Lesley Martin was denied parole by the Parole Board because of her failure to give an unqualified acceptance of the impropriety of her offending, and reports that the Parole Board failed to parole Peter Ellis because he refused to accept the guilt of his crime, and can he compare those decisions to the Parole Board’s decision to give back-end home detention to John Thomas Clarke, despite the fact that in the Parole Board’s own decision it notes that he denied his offending—does that not concern the Minister?
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR Link to this
It is not in my role to comment on the decisions by the Parole Board. It is my responsibility to ensure that the corrections system is in a position to provide all the relevant information to the Parole Board.