3. GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does she have confidence in the Minister of Corrections and his department; if so, why?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) Link to this
As I have told the member who set down the question twice already this month, yes; because the Minister is hard-working and conscientious. Although the department clearly has room to improve, I am confident that, with its current leadership, that will happen.
How does the Prime Minister reconcile her previous statements and those of her Minister that there is no widespread corruption within our prisons with the public admission of the Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections, Barry Matthews, that there is a “culture of corruption” in his department?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
That in itself does not say how widespread it is. It says that Mr Matthews has problems with some individuals.
How does the Prime Minister reconcile the previous statements made by both her and her Minister that corruption and dysfunction are not widespread in our prisons with the decision to stand down the Wellington regional manager of prisons, a senior Department of Corrections official?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Easily, by looking at the way that this matter has been reported. It is clear Mr Matthews said that that man was “not under suspicion of corruption”.
Ron MarkWould it not be fair to say that the mere fact that the Department of Corrections has put together an anti-corruption team, that it has suspended 11 employees thus far at Rimutaka Prison, and that investigations are ongoing into issues that do not involve just corruption but might well involve employment matters such as competence, not tend to give some weight to the thought that confidence in the department can rightly begin to rise because actions are in hand and business is being taken care of, and maybe she has some announcements to make further on, over the next few weeks, that might again raise confidence in the department?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I see the actions that the head of the Department of Corrections is taking to clean up the problems that are evident as very encouraging, and I am sure that amendments such as those to the Parole Act that the Government is bringing to the House will improve the situation further. Overall, we need to make sure that the different parts of the criminal justice system are working well together. On the evidence, there has not been the good interaction that there should have been between some elements of it.
Why is the Prime Minister confident in saying that corruption in the prison service is not widespread, when the chief executive of the prison service, Barry Matthews, uses the very expansive statement that a “culture of corruption” is rife within his department?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
As I said in reply to the member’s first supplementary question, that is not in itself a statement that it is widespread.
If the Prime Minister has so much confidence in Damien O’Connor and the Department of Corrections, why did she hastily announce just before leaving the country a review into the entire justice system, including the Department of Corrections, because she is “concerned about the overall operation of the system”, then fail to tell anyone the terms of reference, the time frame for the review, and even who would actually be conducting it?