Collins Judith: Corrections Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading 
Collins Judith: Corrections Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading 
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Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Corrections) 
: 
 I move  
That the Corrections Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a third time 
. The passage of this bill is long overdue. The previous Government promised to clamp down on contraband but as with so many other law and order bills it allowed this bill to languish on the Order Paper for months. The previous Government had the opportunity to push through this legislation but it did not take that opportunity. It did not do so because cracking down on crimes run from inside prisons was never a priority. In contrast we have given the passing of this legislation a high priority because there is an urgent need to improve the safety and security of our prison system and to better protect the public from high-risk offenders who are released into the community. The bill is an important first step towards achieving those objectives. 
I do not intend to give a lengthy summary of the bill. Its content was well covered in the recent second reading debate. I would like to highlight a few of its provisions that will help to make our prisons more effective. First it is essential to stop drugs and other contraband getting into our prisons. Among other things the bill makes it an offence for visitors to have unauthorised items in a prison without reasonable excuse. It also extends powers to search areas such as staff lockers. 
Drug testing is an important means of controlling drug use by prisoners. It is therefore important to ensure the integrity of testing procedures. The bill does this by providing for retesting where a sample is found to be diluted or contaminated and for strip-searching of prisoners who are about to be retested. 
The use of cellphones by prisoners threatens prison security and public safety. This matter is addressed by giving specific legislative authority to detect monitor and jam cellphones in prisons. At the same time there is protection for telephone companies and their legitimate customers because the bill prohibits harmful interference with cellphone use outside prison boundaries. 
It is totally unacceptable that some prisoners have been able to abuse the mail system to organise crimes and to threaten people. We know that letters containing threats plans for further offending and other prohibited communications have been leaving prisons. This will not be tolerated. Under the bill prisoners’ private correspondence may be read routinely by authorised officers. Correspondence with official agencies members of Parliament and legal advisers will continue to be protected. When highest-risk prisoners are released from prison there needs to be a coordinated approach to their management in the community. This bill assists in that regard by providing for police the Department of Corrections and where appropriate relevant social agencies to enter into information-sharing agreements for the purpose of monitoring highest-risk offenders. 
The present bill is part of a broader Government strategy to improve the prison system. I have directed the Department of Corrections to work on a range of important initiatives. These include amongst other things boosting the numbers of prisoners learning industry-based skills doubling the number of prisoners receiving drug and alcohol treatment and reviewing the screening and treatment of prisoners with mental health problems. 
We also intend to introduce and pass legislation that will allow for competitive tendering for the management of prisons on a case by case basis. The Auckland Central Remand Prison was successfully managed by a private company for 5 years but the prison had to revert to public management because of legislation passed by the previous Government. We believe there could be substantial benefits from private sector involvement in the management of prisons. 
The Corrections Amendment Bill (No 2) makes a significant contribution to the safe and effective management of the prison system and of the highest-risk offenders released into the community. Many people who look at this bill and who are listening to this debate would wonder why this was not done a long time ago. There is nothing in this bill that does not reek of common sense. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There appears to be a member on the far side of the House who is talking on a cellphone. I think that is a breach of Speakers’ rulings. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: That is correct. If the member wants to use her cellphone she must go out into the lobby. I ask the member to continue. 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: I commend this bill to the House.