Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:635;Page:6297] 
10.  
SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) 
 to the  
Minister of Corrections 
: Does he have confidence in his department; if so why? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister of Corrections) 
: 
 Yes but there is always room for improvement. 
Simon Power 
: Can he confirm that at Rimutaka Waikeria and Ngawha prisons there were 11 PlayStation and Xbox game consoles costing approximately $5000 which includes 58 games that go with them; and can he also confirm that these games have been removed only since National started asking questions about their existence? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I am aware of that. Most of those PlayStations were in the youth units. The question did prompt the department to look at its policy. We do not have a policy covering this area and management decided to withdraw those PlayStations until an appropriate policy could be developed. 
Simon Power 
: Does he think it is appropriate for prisoners to use violent role-playing computer games where they fight with their fists baseball bats rakes stakes samurai swords handguns shotguns machine-guns chain guns and chainsaws? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: It is far better to have the games than the real thing. 
Simon Power 
: What does the Minister say to the public of New Zealand who on the one hand see prisoners getting access to PlayStations LCD TVs barbecues and mobile phones yet on the other hand hear that only 19 percent of prisoners are on Department of Corrections inmate employment schemes—down from 26 percent in 2004? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Forty percent of prisoners are currently working. The 19 percent that the member refers to is those prisoners employed by corrections inmate employment only. The rest of the prisoners are employed looking after themselves and running the prisons. With regard to the Xboxes I think it appropriate that we have a proper policy covering those areas. No doubt at some stage before TVs and cassettes were allowed in prisons some may have had the same attitude as Mr Power. The reality is that technology has moved ahead of policy. That is why we are about to look at the policy and put a new one in place. 
Simon Power 
: How can he be confident in his department when in a year his chief executive has agreed is an annus horribilis due to all of the scandals in prisons and the budget blowout in prison construction the man in charge of the Department of Corrections cheque book Chief Financial Officer John Ryan—the Law and Order Committee was told today—is on sabbatical at Oxford; and who is paying for that sabbatical? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I do not necessarily agree with the Chief Executive Officer; I do not think it has been a bad year for the department. It has done an outstanding job of looking after more prisoners than we have ever had in this country before it has reduced the rate of inmate assaults and it has reduced the rate of suicides within prisons. I think that the department does a very good job. Regarding Mr Ryan I say that he does an excellent job as the chief financial officer. These decisions are not made by me but I guess that if the chief executive has allowed him to go on sabbatical then he has done it for a very good reason. 
Simon Power 
: When the Minister stated last month in relation to prison construction that “changes have occurred in that whole area of management of these projects.” was he referring to the establishment of the programme management office in February of this year; and how successful has that office been at managing the budget blowout when it has spent almost half a million dollars employing 10 consultants in a matter of 5 months? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I am informed that the department has been doing a very good job to get the completion of the last two prisons at Spring Hill and Otago completed on time and within the final budget figures allocated.