Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:631;Page:3344] 
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 
: How can he have confidence in his department when its own report into the Auckland Central Remand Prison acknowledged that private management had been so effective that the department had adopted some of its improvements such as more education programmes staff dedicated to behavioural assessment physical training sentence planning and crime prevention and why did not any of these innovations ever emerge from the public sector? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Many of those initiatives have been taken on board. That facility was for just remand prisoners. It was a new facility. There were opportunities there that are not always available in old facilities. This Government has committed a billion dollars to new prisons throughout this country that will be able to provide these courses and better rehabilitate and reintegrate prisoners into society. 
Simon Power 
: Why should prisons be run only by his department when in taking over Auckland Central Remand Prison from private management it has added another layer of management doubled the number of custodial managers doubled the staff-inmate ratio to keep the unions happy cut 24-hour health services and halved the number of visits that inmates are allowed? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: The cost of running that facility is exactly the same as it was then. The number of visits has remained the same. We have taken on board the useful initiatives and we will continue to improve the prison service throughout the whole country. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Is it not the case that Australasian Correctional Management ran the Auckland Central Remand Prison as a sales brochure for private prisons and can he confirm that that same company has been subject to numerous allegations of abuse relating to its operations in Australia since it no longer needs to run a sales job in that country? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I am aware of some of those claims and I am also aware that the previous National Government was driven by ideology and was attempting to privatise every single part of Government responsibility. 
Simon Power 
: How does he respond to the comments today of John Whitty National Director Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society: “Having visited privately run prisons in the UK and Auckland it seems obvious that these prisons provide services and programmes that were superior to those in the public sector because public sector managed prisons are large bureaucracies where new initiatives struggle to survive.”? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: That member is referring to just a remand centre not a prison that deals with a wide range of challenges. John Whitty has his opinions and unfortunately we do have to have large institutions. We are working very hard to reduce the size of and the need for large institutions. 
Dr Pita Sharples 
: Is the Minister aware that Te Kaunihera Kaumatua o Te Whanganui-a-Tara after contact with the Department of Corrections head Barry Matthews to discuss Maori protocols has taken the drastic step of recommending that Maori including Maori staff boycott powhiri or whakatau created by the department without consultation with Maori and what does he intend to do about that situtation? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I am not aware of the claim to boycott all proceedings but I know that we are working through a process to ensure that people understand what the Maori protocol is around prisons. 
Simon Power 
: Does he agree with the findings of his department that private management of Auckland Central Remand Prison successfully instilled a culture of professionalism teamwork and pride in performance amongst staff because it did not have “the necessary constraints of a Government organisation” and were therefore able to “walk the talk”? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I think the level of service provided by Department of Corrections officers and prison officers in the public sector is outstanding given the challenge they have in a very difficult environment. There will always be an ability to improve that service and we will continue to work on that. 
Simon Power 
: Can he confirm that the department was initially seeking another $3 million to cover the costs of the transition from private to public management of Auckland Central Remand Prison and can he tell the House how much was actually spent—all for the sake of his Government’s ideological objection to running prisons more effectively? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I have not been advised that there were any additional costs. I have been advised that the cost of running that facility is about the same as it was when the prison was under private management. 
Ron Mark 
: Can the Minister confirm that New Zealand First has been engaged in discussions with him regarding the many managerial and policy failures of the Department of Corrections—[ 
Interruption 
] Is the member going to leave Madam Speaker? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: No. He did not interject; he laughed. If I threw out everyone who laughed inappropriately there would be no one left but I would ask the member to restrain himself. 
Simon Power 
: I apologise. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Thank you. The member has apologised. 
Ron Mark 
: Can the Minister confirm that New Zealand First has been engaged in discussions with him regarding the many managerial and policy failures of the Department of Corrections and when will he announce his acceptance of New Zealand First’s request that the time has come for a complete review of the department’s head office in order to ensure that its functions are appropriately positioned and structured for it to better meet its organisational demands—something it has clearly been struggling to do? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I will acknowledge that we have had many useful conversations on those issues. I have taken on board many of the recommendations and views of that member and we are currently in consideration of a number of them. 
Simon Power 
: I seek leave to table four documents from the Department of Corrections that acknowledge that the private management of Auckland Central Remand Prison was very effective indeed. 
Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Dr Pita Sharples 
: I seek leave to table a document from Te Kaunihera Kaumatua o Te Whanganui-a-Tara outlining its policy. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.