Okeroa Mahara: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Okeroa Mahara: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:622;Page:17630] 
7.  
MAHARA OKEROA (Labour—Te Tai Tonga) 
 to the  
Minister of Corrections 
: What steps have been taken to increase the capacity of the prison system to cater for increasing numbers? 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Acting Minister of Corrections) 
: 
 I have announced this week the addition of a further 240 prison beds in Wanganui Christchurch and Rimutaka. Those are on top of 213 new prison beds announced last month bringing a total of 453 extra beds to be available by 2006. Four new prisons are also on track to open over the next 3 years increasing capacity by a further 1500 beds. 
Mahara Okeroa 
: Why has there been increased demand for prison capacity when police statistics show a reduction of 18 percent in the crime rate since it peaked under the National Government? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: That is a good question because crime is down 18 percent from its peak under the National Government. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Oh! 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: The member might not believe that but he has to believe the Commissioner of Police who produces those statistics. There are two reasons why there has been increasing demand. The first is that in line with the 92 percent support for the referendum measures on crime in 1999 this Government has delivered on its undertaking to have tougher laws on bail parole and sentencing. These figures are proof of that. Secondly the police are better resourced than before. They have massively increased their crime resolution rate and as those people are apprehended and convicted they find their way into the prison system if they are serious and recidivist offenders. 
Richard Worth 
: Does the Minister of Corrections agree with the view of the Public Service Association’s national organiser that “Salaries continue to be a major impediment to prison officer recruitment.”; if he does agree with that statement when is it planned to hike the pay of prison staff? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: It is really curious hearing the National Party demand that there be an increase in wages; that Government spent its whole career trying to drive wages down. The reason for recruitment problems is that this Government has been incredibly successful in dropping unemployment to 3.8 percent. The Department of Corrections has had considerable success in recent times in recruiting including recruiting internationally to get trained prison officers from other countries. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Why does the Minister of Corrections make claims about being on top of crime when the incidence of violent crime is up significantly in his time as Minister; and why does this Minister insist upon doing an impersonation of Saddam Hussein’s information Minister every time he rises in the House? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister will not comment on the second part of the question which was out of order. He may briefly answer the first part. 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: I will briefly comment on the first part of the question. Crime peaked when that member was Treasurer in 1997. Crime rates today going by police statistics are 18 percent down from the rates that that member was responsible for. 
Keith Locke 
: Would it not help our prison capacity problem if we did not have a system of unnecessarily jailing minor offenders like Neville Yates a paraplegic brain-damaged man who has been in prison—[ 
Interruption 
]—for 5 months simply for growing cannabis for his own medicinal use for pain relief? 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: I would invite that member to look at the nature of the people generally who are being imprisoned; he will find that those people almost invariably come within the category of being serious or seriously recidivist offenders. Unfortunately in the short term the best way to protect the community against those people is to take them out of circulation. In the longer term early intervention policies and policies dealing with youth crime will ultimately bring down those imprisonment rates. 
Rod Donald 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am sick and tired of other members interrupting Keith Locke when he asks questions. It seems to be persistent behaviour in this House. I raised the issue with Simon Power only 2 days ago in your presence Mr Speaker if you recall and I invite you to apply one law for all. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will certainly do that. I decide when people leave the Chamber. On this occasion I was a little overgenerous. I stand by my decision but I can assure the member that if Mr Locke asks any other question this session and there is any interjection during it there will be no warning.