Clendon David: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeClendon David: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 02 June 2016. Volume:714;Page:11636. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]6.DAVID CLENDON (Green) to the Minister of Corrections: Does she take responsibility for the additional $41 million above baseline funding that has been earmarked for prisons in response to the rising prison population?Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Corrections): I accept responsibility for helping to secure this funding.David Clendon: Given the Government’s stated goal of reducing reoffending by 25 percent by 2017 what is the rationale for allocating $10 million less to rehabilitation programmes in this year’s Budget compared with the initial estimate for 2015?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: I can tell the member because I know he is deeply interested in it and genuinely so that reoffenders are by the way down by 25 percent at the moment. The reoffending rate though is 6.7 percent down. But the big focus this year is actually going to be on mental health and the provision of mental health services in prisons.David Clendon: Does it make sense to cut $25000 from rehabilitation programmes like Circles of Support and Accountability which has a proven record of reducing reoffending while increasing spending on custodial services by $41 million?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: If fewer people would like to commit serious violent offending and methamphetamine supply offences then we would be happy to take fewer of them into corrections. But while they continue to do that then we will continue to house them properly.David Clendon: What assurances can she give that the corrections scheduling regime is fit for purpose and that inmates who need rehabilitation programmes are getting access to them in a timely fashion?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: I know that corrections is taking this very seriously to make sure that prisoners can in fact access rehabilitation when they should be and I can assure him that I have taken the issue to the chief executive of corrections and that is actually something that they are making sure that they do better on.David Clendon: Is the Minister then saying that she is aware of the numerous and credible reports of inmates being unable to access rehabilitation programmes required by the Parole Board meaning that they are serving more prison time than they need to be?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: I am aware of many allegations but they are not always credible. In fact sometimes when we have looked into them it has been a prisoner who has been scheduled to undertake rehabilitation and has then gone on to commit an offence in prison itself and therefore is no longer able to undertake that rehabilitation.David Clendon: As corrections Minister dealing with the blowout of 700 inmates in the prison muster since last year does she now regret any of the decisions she made as justice Minister on mandatory sentencing and bail policy—policies that have increased prison numbers with no measurable improvement in public safety?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Oh I would never say that to someone who has been the victim of a serious violent offender. In fact I would absolutely support the policies of this Government. I am very pleased to have been part of them.David Clendon: What evidence does the Minister have for her reported assertion that the percentage increase in the prison muster is caused by longer sentences for violent offenders rather than an increase in the remand population?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: It is actually both and what is really important—and I have heard from the Department of Corrections directly—is that quite a lot of that increase in the remand population is actually around family violence being treated far more seriously in the courts by police and by the courts and repeat recidivist violent offenders in their own homes not being let free to go home and beat their children and their spouse until they end up dead which is what we have had by the way in the past.