5. Prisons—Future of Waikeria Prison and Prison Incident MeasuresHon DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) to the Minister of CorrectionsPrisons—Future of Waikeria Prison and Prison Incident Measures5. Hon DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) to the Minister of Corrections: Does he stand by all his statements actions and policies regarding his Corrections portfolio?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Justice) on behalf of the Minister of Corrections: On behalf of the Minister yes.Hon David Bennett: Why when he has taken numerous papers to Cabinet regarding Waikeria Prison has his Government not made a decision regarding Waikeria?Hon Iain Lees-Galloway: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. On four occasions the member Louise Upston queried the absence of a member. She knows she must not do that.SPEAKER: I didn't pick it up. The Hon Louise Upston is—[Interruption] Order! Sorry I should have stood up and that might have stopped Louise Upston from interjecting while I was ruling. The member is a senior member. She knows what the rules are. She must not do it and she will not do it again.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Sorry Mr Speaker. I don't want to cause the honourable member David Bennett to have more exercise today but I can't quite recall the detail of the question.Hon David Bennett: Thank you Mr Speaker. We all have memory lapses in this House apparently. Why when he has taken numerous papers to Cabinet regarding Waikeria Prison has his Government not made a decision regarding Waikeria Prison?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: On behalf of the Minister this Government inherited the tail end of a decision from the previous Government to invest a billion dollars into a mega-prison and the new Government sought to review the details of that proposal so that a good decision could be made about the long-term future of the prison.Hon David Bennett: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There's never been any mention of a mega-prison in any Government documents. That member is misleading the House with that comment.SPEAKER: Sorry has the member got a point of order?Hon David Bennett: Yes Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: The member will resume his seat. He's going to make very clear which Standing Order or Speaker's ruling he's referring to if he's going to take a point of order because at the moment he sounds like he's trying to usurp my role where I take responsibility for making sure that the answers are in order. So far this answer was certainly in order.Hon David Bennett: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Standing Order 380(1)(b). The member mentioned a mega-prison. There has never been in any official documents—SPEAKER: For goodness' sake! The member will resume his seat. Does the member want to have another supplementary?Hon David Bennett: I have got two more; yes.SPEAKER: Well away you go.Hon David Bennett: Given that serious crime has increased by 4 percent in the last quarter but the prison population has risen only by 2 percent does he expect more or fewer serious criminal offenders to be imprisoned?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: On behalf of the Minister I think that member trivialises the reality of criminal offending statistics in this country because—Hon David Bennett: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Order! The member will let the Minister finish the question. If he has a point of order by the end of it I will hear it.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: What the figures show is that over an extended period of time a number of years serious criminal offending has gone up. We know that there is serious pressure on the prison population and this Government with its long-term objective of reducing the prison population has to manage very carefully the short-term pressures on the prison system and the long-term wish to reform our criminal justice system so that it is safe and effective.Hon David Bennett: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I took offence when the Minister said that I trivialise these matters. I would ask him to withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: You can but I'm not going to require him to.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That surely has to be a breach of Standing Order 120.SPEAKER: Why?Hon Gerry Brownlee: Saying that a person is trivialising something as important as—SPEAKER: Oh for goodness' sake! I'm vaguely tempted to repeat Ron Mark's offence yesterday. Members need to be able to take a little bit of cut and thrust at question time and being offended by saying that—[Interruption] Being offended by saying that someone is trivialising an issue is a level of sensitivity which any member of Parliament should be able to handle. Matt King will withdraw and apologise.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Point of order.SPEAKER: Sorry Matt King will withdraw and apologise.Matt King: I've done nothing. I've said nothing. I did nothing. I said nothing. What did I say?SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. The member interjected while I was on—[Interruption] Yes the member did; I saw him. He was loud. I heard him. He mightn't have used words but he certainly interrupted. Matt King.Hon David Bennett: Supplementary question.SPEAKER: No Matt King is going to withdraw and apologise.Matt King: I withdraw and apologise.Hon Dr Nick Smith: For not saying anything.SPEAKER: He made a very loud noise. He's not a small man and he made a—Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I'd like you to please reflect on the advice you just gave the House about members being overly sensitive because we've seen plenty of examples of that today.SPEAKER: Yes and—[Interruption] No the member will resume his seat. What I'm saying is making noises which are not words in English but noises that might be more commonly heard in a barnyard are not appropriate.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. How is effectively accusing a member of this House of making a barnyard noise not a personal reflection?SPEAKER: Well I should probably have called it a loud guffaw of the type certainly not heard normally in this place.Hon David Bennett: Why is he removing the performance measures of the number of prison escapes the number of prisoner on prisoner assaults that are serious and the number of prisoner on staff assaults that are serious from being made public when this trivial and incompetent Government is supposed to be an open and transparent Government?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: On behalf of the Minister that question requires a level of detail that is not foreshadowed in the primary question. I simply do not have that information.Hon David Bennett: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It was in the Budget last week. That member cannot say that it's something that he does not know about; he signed off on that Budget. He would have read it.SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. Question No. 6—Tamati Coffey.Barbara Kuriger: Supplementary.SPEAKER: Oh sorry—Barbara Kuriger. Sorry I didn't realise there were further supplementaries. Barbara Kuriger: Thank you Mr Speaker. When will the Minister make a decision on Waikeria Prison to provide clarity for the Ōtorohanga and Waipā communities?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: On behalf of the Minister we expect a decision in a matter of weeks specifically in relation to Waikeria. I make no apology for the delay in making a decision because it has been a difficult one and it is a long-term one. [Interruption]SPEAKER: Order!Hon ANDREW LITTLE: One reason for which we are not making the decision is as the member who asked the question wanted an economic development initiative by building another prison.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. When is the Hon Paula Bennett able to come back into the House?SPEAKER: At a time I decide and I will inform her when that is.