Lotu-Iiga Sam: Urgent Debates — Mt Eden Corrections Facility—Serco’s PerformanceText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLotu-Iiga Sam: Urgent Debates — Mt Eden Corrections Facility—Serco’s Performance[Sitting date: 21 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5119. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (Minister of Corrections):Thank you for the opportunity to speak in this debate. What we have just heard from that member Kelvin Davis is a whole bunch of allegations—unsubstantiated allegations—with no evidence no affidavits absolutely no evidence to suggest what he is saying is true. But I do agree with one thing that that member said. I along with that member am appalled at the images that were shown in the last week that have come out of our corrections facilities. I am also appalled and I am angry about that and that is why I have instituted a two-part review to get to the bottom of this not just these incidents but other incidents that have come across social media in the last week. That review will involve Serco. Serco is doing an internal investigation. It also involves the chief inspectorate. Also members opposite have asked for an independent investigation. Well it also involves the Office of the Ombudsmen. The member asked whether that oversight will be total and I give him an undertaking that it will be. The independent Office of the Ombudsmen will be there.What we have in our prisons in this particular prison—we have seen the violence and we are going to get to the bottom of it. But as I have said in question time today that violence is not confined to just Mt Eden Corrections Facility. That member knows it but members opposite want to make this issue about an ideological battle about public versus private prisons. What I am here as the Minister of Corrections to do is to improve the well-being of New Zealanders to improve the core safety for all New Zealanders across both the private and the public estate. So that is why we have put in place this review and the review will incorporate not just what is going on in Mt Eden but we are also expanding it out to what is going on in terms of contraband—mobile phones alcohol that might be smuggled in all the different contraband—as well as violence in our prisons.But I say that with the caveat and that member knows this that we are dealing with some of the most dangerous some of the most violent and some of the hardest people in our community. That is why they are behind bars. I say to that member that I support the 8000 staff who work in corrections right across this country who get up every day and do a fine job protecting him me and all New Zealand citizens. So I say to that member: when he trashes the corrections system in this country when he trashes the people who serve us and all New Zealanders he should be careful how he puts that because he is having a go at our democracy and the institutions that protect us as New Zealanders.So let us have a look at these assaults. At Mt Eden last year in the 2014 financial year—that member was short on facts he was short on evidence but I am going to produce the evidence right here—there were five assaults at Mt Eden; six assaults at Spring Hill Corrections Facility; seven serious assaults prisoner-on-prisoner assaults at Rimutaka Prison.Kelvin Davis: What did the video show?Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: Well that member should go and visit Rimutaka and also see how the prison estate—in terms of prisoner-on-staff assaults in the last financial year there was one at Mt Eden three at Waikeria Prison.Kelvin Davis: How can we believe that?Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: How can you believe that? Because that is what is going on in our prisons. And that member may rail against all sorts of things and hearsay evidence that he brings up but I have worked with the member. Every time he has brought up an assault or an allegation I have worked with the member and I have worked with the Department of Corrections to bring about some sort of outcome and investigation into his questions. That is what I have done.Let us look at contraband because that member says again that this problem is confined to Mt Eden prison. Well clearly it is not because for the 2014 financial year Mt Eden had 79 communications devices that we found. It had 79. Christchurch Prison had 112 and Rimutaka had 237—237. And that member says there is a problem at Mt Eden. No we have got issues right across the estate.Also I have gone on record—and the member asked this afternoon—about Serco’s performance. Serco’s performance according to the latest performance table for prisons 31 March 2015—and that member can go to the website and have a look. Instead he comes in here waving all sorts of stories and we do not know whether they are substantiated or not. But I point to that survey of core security internal procedures and rehabilitation. Only one prison has an exceptional rating—one prison. That is Serco. That is Mt Eden prison. That is despite the fact that that prison has 30000 prisoner movements a year—4000 prisoners go in and out of Mt Eden. As a remand prison that makes it more dangerous that makes it more highly volatile than any other prison in New Zealand. If that member decides to go and visit Mt Eden prison—I urge him to go and have a look as I have—he will see what a dangerous set-up it is and how the nature of this prison compared with others in terms of the remand facility is dare I say it highly volatile.But let us look at staffing because the accusation from members opposite is that staffing issues have arisen. But I have got an undertaking from the Department of Corrections that it is fully staffed at Mt Eden prison—fully staffed.But I have put Serco on notice that it has got to—Jacinda Ardern: They said that 2 years ago. Talk to the staff.Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: I have spoken to the staff Ms Ardern. I have spoken to the staff when I was there last and they are on notice that they need to improve. Clearly from the images that were transmitted across this country last week things need to improve and that is what the review is about.Can I just say about the death of Mr Evans that I just find it appalling that that member Kelvin Davis who comes in here and says that he cares about families—that family did not want their son and their grandson as part of the political debate. If he knew that family he would understand that. Instead that member comes in here and throws around the sad death of a young man. You use that for your political gain. I say to that member: shame. I say to the member: shame on him for bringing that into this House—bringing that into this House. What we need to do as politicians is we need to stay calm. We need to stay calm wait for the coroner’s inquest and wait for the chief inspectorate’s investigation which is what we need to do. But we do not come in here and throw around political footballs of people’s lives that have been lost. And I say shame on that member.I also want to point out to that member who yesterday made various defamatory statements about me—Kelvin Davis: Oh sue me!Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: No I say to that member put up some evidence or shut up—put up or shut up. I say to you honestly you are a good guy Kelvin—Mr Davis—but if you do not have any evidence around some of those defamatory statements put up or shut up. That is all I have got to say all right? I received that 2014 report—I got emailed that last Saturday. I read that last night and you have got evidence to suggest otherwise? You put up or you shut up. That is all I have got to say.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order! You do not—[Interruption] Order! When I am on my feet there is silence. Now I just ask to calm things down and not to bring the Speaker into the debate.Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: And he also talked about—Hon Dr Nick Smith: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You had not resumed your seat and the constant barracking from Mr Davis—he had immediately interjected to the point where I cannot—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): I am the judge of that. [Interruption] Order! I am the judge of that and I have asked members to tone it down. It has been a robust debate and that is fine. Interjections should be rare and reasonable and specifically on the target.Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: The member opposite also asked about auditing in terms of monitors and in terms of the scrutiny that goes into overseeing the contract with Serco. We know that there are two monitors in there. We know that the Office of the Ombudsmen can at any time go into Mt Eden prison and investigate and examine and ask questions and he says that there is no auditing going on. Well that is clearly untrue. What I am saying is that there is sufficient surveillance and monitoring of Serco’s contract and it is important. It is important because there are ways in which Serco has to perform to its contract.In terms of preventing the contraband that we referred to earlier there are screening methods. There is a lot that both public and private prison operators do to contain the flow of contraband into our prisons.Chris Hipkins: Everything’s fine is it?Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: We have got prison perimeter security and Mr Hipkins knows that. We limit the number of entry points into our prisons. We do strip-searches of prisoners. We do background checks on those who visit.Hon Member: Who’s “we”?Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: The Department of Corrections and public and private prisons—yes we do that. And we use scanners and X-ray machines in terms of how we monitor those who go into our prisons. So it is an ongoing problem not just here in New Zealand but across the world.I was at a conference for Ministers—Australian states and myself as the New Zealand Minister—where we discussed a number of these issues. They are not confined just to New Zealand prisons and they are not confined just to Serco prisons; they are issues that prison authorities and Governments have to deal with not just here but around the world.In summary I just want to say that there is a review going on. It is a two-part review. We need to see what went wrong at Mt Eden prison. We have got to get to the bottom of how these violent situations came about. We need to find out how contraband is being smuggled into Mt Eden prison. I have been assured by Serco that it is stepping up security—that it is stepping up to the plate in terms of the fulfilment of its contract. We have a thorough and robust review in place. It is due next month—part one of the review is due next month at the end of August and then the second part which incorporates all prisons around New Zealand will be due by the end of September.I reiterate that we are dealing with some of the most dangerous violent people in our society. It is not a difficult job but I support the 8000 men and women in our public system who work within the Department of Corrections. I support those who keep us safe every day and the work that they do and clearly sadly the member opposite does not believe that to be true. Thank you.