Sepuloni Carmel: Corrections Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading 
Sepuloni Carmel: Corrections Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading 
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CARMEL SEPULONI (Labour) 
: 
 Just like my Labour colleagues who have spoken on the Corrections Amendment Bill (No 2) I wish to congratulate the Government on progressing this bill—a bill that the previous Labour Government introduced. Fortunately we have here a bill that has been appropriately scrutinised by the Law and Order Committee. 
I wish to reinforce what my Labour colleagues have already articulated in relation to this bill in that we will happily support legislation we believe to be in the best interests of New Zealanders. Given that this bill was introduced by Labour it is of course in the best interests of New Zealanders. We support the Corrections Amendment Bill (No 2) wholeheartedly. It is fair to say that Labour is committed to having a modern effective fair and accessible justice system which makes offenders more accountable reduces reoffending helps the victims of crime and in turn strengthens our communities. It is this commitment that drove the significant level of progress made by Labour during its time in Government. 
Let us reflect on that progress. As my colleague Phil Twyford mentioned the number of prison escapes per 100 prisoners was just one-sixth of what it had been 10 years ago under the last National Government. What does that mean? That means that the escape rate fell by 84 percent. The amount of drug taking in prisons was less than half of what it was when the National Government left office in 1999. The Labour-led Government was able to put effective measures into place to lower the number of drugs making their way into our prisons. This is reinforced by the fact that fewer inmates were returning positive drug-tests. 
Under the previous Labour-led Government it was significantly harder for prisoners to escape due to the additional 17 kilometres of perimeter fencing that was constructed. Labour made progress in its fight against contraband through increased security and surveillance. Increasing the surveillance has included doubling the number of drug-dog teams to 12 and setting up regular checkpoints outside prisons to screen visitors and staff. On top of that new security fences electronic security devices and cameras closed-circuit television motion detectors and microwave sensors will be introduced. 
I will say it again: Labour is committed to having a modern effective fair and accessible justice system. It was this commitment that ensured that significant progress could be made in this area under the previous Labour Government. But Labour recognised and continues to recognise that there is always more work to be done and more progress to be made. Labour has never been a party to rest on its laurels which is why the Labour-led Government introduced this bill to the House on 3 December 2007. Labour’s intention was—and continues to be—that this bill would complement all of the operational initiatives that I mentioned earlier. 
The bill aims to crack down on drug use to eliminate the illicit use of cellphones in prisons to enhance powers of search in relation to inmates and for those working in prisons and to adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards staff who pass contraband to prisoners. Penalties will be increased from 3 months to up to a year in prison and the maximum fine will be doubled to $5000. The bill aims to authorise the electronic detection and jamming of all cellphones used within prisons and to extend prison powers to screen inmates’ mail for unlawful or harmful communications. Mail as well as telephone communications can be subject to surveillance. The bill aims to create a penalty for publishing unauthorised communications from inmates that prejudice the interests of victims. 
As Chester Borrows said there is no contest regarding this bill. There are measures that need to be put into place to further increase the safety for New Zealanders. We want our prisons to be drug-free. We want our prisoners to be prevented from engaging in criminal activity with outsiders while serving their time in jail. All of these things we agree on. So Labour supports this bill wholeheartedly. 
To conclude I say that we will be voting for this bill; we wrote it. This bill meets the public’s expectations in that it has been subject to select committee scrutiny and New Zealanders have been given the democratic right to participate in the process. This bill is in the best interests of New Zealanders and Labour supports it wholeheartedly. Thank you.