Sharples Pita: Corrections (Use of Court Cells) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sharples Pita: Corrections (Use of Court Cells) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 24 November 2009. Volume:659;Page:8183. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Associate Minister of Corrections) 
: 
 I would like to take a short call on the Corrections (Use of Court Cells) Amendment Bill. We agree with most of the speakers—there are a lot of dangers in this legislation. Although we will support it we think there are a lot of things that have to be taken care of before it proceeds. I am not worried about the food I am not worried about the latrines and I am not worried about the showers. I think those issues can be dealt with. But I am worried about safety. Safety is a major issue. There have been several break-outs from court cells— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairman. I think we had better check. I think Sir Roger is asleep but I just want to make sure it is not something more serious. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker) 
: I say to the member that that is not a point of order and the member should reflect upon that and what it does for the Committee. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: I would like to carry on after being interrupted by the observant member Trevor Mallard. As I said those safety issues need to be taken care of. There have been several break-outs from court cells. One was through a window and another was through the ceiling. In fact I think one of my nephews got away from the Waipukurau prison in that way. I think it is important that 18-year-olds continue to be kept separate from older prisoners even when in a holding period and not in a semi-permanent period. 
This measure has to be temporary; it cannot be any longer than that. Given that those things are taken care of the Maori Party will support this bill but only as a temporary measure. The reality is that by June next year more cells will be needed to incarcerate the many people who are in there now. We are in this situation because prison numbers swelled under the previous Labour Government. Numbers went from about 5000 in 1996 to 8400 now. So I am not saying that Labour is at fault for all of that increase but quite clearly that is what happened over that period. 
We need to do something about it and to me the solution is the work that we do in our society. We have to create stable families. We have to put our effort into the community. It is through education and well families that people will turn away from a life of crime. I think we all have to work on that across parties as well. 
I will humour the member Mita Ririnui as to why I supported the Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill last night. I gave two speeches—[ 
Interruption 
] I guess he must have been asleep at that time but never mind. I supported the bill for a number of reasons. One of them is that a lot of groups want to go into partnership with iwi and have a joint venture if you like. Now the number of Maori in the population has not dropped as a percentage but Maori make up more than 50 percent of the people in jail. What is there now has not worked so we should try something different and that measure is an option. 
In terms of recidivism we have some buildings in the pipeline called Whare Oranga Ake which is basically a rehabilitation institution. It is still a prison; it caters for the last part of an inmate’s lag. Prisoners will put into a programme of therapeutic analysis so they can analyse their own situation. They will be reconnected with the community and with family. They will be trained in an occupation and so on. They will live in self-care units for four persons. But they will have to earn their way to get into these units. 
The good thing about this whare is that if we have a whare for 32 or 36 people then the majority of the people will not reoffend. So we are actually creating 32 more beds each time there is a roll-over whereas right now in prisons we are just refilling the beds sending the inmates out and then getting them back in again. To me the first emphasis has to be on the rehabilitation of those inmates in jail now and on attacking the recidivism rate. The second emphasis is to look at alternatives to deal with the prisoners in jail now. Over the years the job of prisons has been to just incarcerate not to rehabilitate at all. Despite brilliant attempts by a lot of people to do a lot of things the reality is that the prison system as it is now is a “good guy bad guy” place where they learn a lot of stuff that is not helpful when they get out. 
It is very important to me that we break the cycle of recidivism but it is also important that we do more than just incarcerate people and then send them out. If prisoners cannot make it when they get out and if the support is not there they re-associate with the former inmates they have known and sooner or later it is easier for them to go back to jail. A lot of recidivism is deliberate. They find it difficult to make it out there so they commit a crime knowing that they will ultimately be caught and they go back into prison. I have been there when prisoners have been readmitted. I have seen them walking down the corridor. 
I remember going to the annex which is where inmates go for the last part of their sentence before they leave Paremoremo prison. I remember some guys who were going to go flatting. They were going to do this and that—they were full of ideas and hope. I visited them a month later and there were no light bulbs in the flat there was no money and there was no food. They were down in their boots and they had no jobs. Two months later they were back inside. 
I have seen people go back inside walk down the corridor and say: “Hi Jim hi Joe. Still got my guitar? Put me on the list for Christmas.” and this and that. They are back home again. That is what we are dealing with and that is what we have to break. That is the reason that I supported the legislation last night. Let us try something different something innovative. Kia ora tatou.