3. SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) Link to this
to the Minister of Corrections
Does he stand by his statement, with regard to following up allegations of corruption against prison staff, that “I will not tolerate any behaviour that undermines the credibility of the department.”; if so, does he apply this same standard to his own actions as Minister and to all actions of Department of Corrections staff?
Hon Dr Nick SmithDid the Minister offer to resign over the Graeme Burton debacle, the death of Liam Ashley, or any of the other scandals that have happened in his department under his watch prior to offering to resign last night because he ruined the Prime Minister’s APEC trip; if not, why not?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
No. The Minister took full responsibility for addressing the system failures that led to those matters. The last named matter, of course, in terms of what happened with the rugby tour, was a purely personal matter and not a systems issue at all.
What message does it send to those conducting the inquiry into corruption at Rimutaka Prison when someone who has been suspended because of allegations against him accompanies the Minister of Corrections on an overseas rugby tour, and do his actions not undermine the credibility of his department in conducting this very inquiry?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
It should send no message at all. The inquiry is independent. The Hon Clayton Cosgrove has ministerial responsibility in relation to those allegations and inquiries, not the Hon Damien O’Connor.
How can any moves the Minister makes to deal with corruption or shortcomings in his department now be taken as serious or credible when he has completely undermined his objectivity and neutrality in carrying out such tasks by allowing a suspended corrections officer to accompany him on a parliamentary trip?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
The Minister has quite clearly said that he believes he made a bad call in that regard. He certainly had no intention of indicating any view in any shape or form about the nature of the inquiries other than, of course, the fact that Mr Morgan, like anybody else, is innocent until found guilty—unlike, of course, Dr Smith, who was found guilty. [ Interruption]
Madam SPEAKERHow can the Minister offer his resignation for a lack of judgment and then, when it is rejected, turn round and tell the public they should have confidence in his competence as a Minister?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
There is a large list of achievements in the corrections area, notably: a massive reduction in prison escapes, a massive reduction in serious prisoner assaults on staff, a massive reduction in serious prisoner assaults on others, a restructuring of the head office of the department and of the prison service, and a massive increase in the capacity of the prison service. So for all the failures, which have occurred over a very long period of time—and I do not know of a single corrections system anywhere in the world that does not have failures from time to time—many achievements have occurred.
What does he say to the many decent, hard-working staff in the corrections system who have been told by the Prime Minister that the Minister of Corrections will stay on as their Minister as punishment for his mistake, when they deserve a Minister who is competent and actually wants the job?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
That, of course, is not what the Prime Minister actually said—the ability of the National Party to misquote is quite remarkable. What the Prime Minister said, of course, was that this was one of the more difficult portfolios because of the fact that from time to time things do go wrong in corrections.
Why did he delegate responsibility for Mr Morgan’s investigation to the Associate Minister of Justice, Clayton Cosgrove, when he actually has an Associate Minister of Corrections called Mita Ririnui; or has he conceded defeat and started handing over his job prior to the reshuffle?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
Following the notification of the fact that Mr Morgan had been suspended, proceedings began within a matter of days as to the best Minister to which, in these circumstances, to delegate any matters in relation to Mr Morgan. It was considered best, in fact, to have a Minister who is inside Cabinet and not connected with the corrections portfolio at that point at all.