Bradford Sue: Corrections (Mothers with Babies) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Bradford Sue: Corrections (Mothers with Babies) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
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SUE BRADFORD (Green) 
: 
 I am really pleased to see the Corrections (Mothers with Babies) Amendment Bill making its way through its final stages in the House just before we rise at the end of this term of Parliament. I acknowledge the Minister of Corrections Phil Goff and Judith Collins for the contributions they have just made and for their personal support and the support of their parties for this bill. It is fantastic. 
Although this bill marks a very small reform within the context of our whole problematic prison system it is certainly a change whose time has come. We had the first reading debate on this bill way back in June 2006—now over 2 years ago. It has been a much longer haul than I expected for a bill that has been nowhere near as controversial as for example trying to change child discipline laws or to abolish discriminatory youth rates. 
This bill achieves a few comparatively simple things. First once it comes into force some mothers in prison will be able to keep their babies with them for up to 2 years rather than the 6 months currently allowed. At the moment there is also at times a grace period of up to 9 months for some mothers—that is there is an extension of 3 months on top of the current 6 months. There may also in future be an extension on top of the 2 years in certain circumstances. 
Secondly in some circumstances mothers who are on remand or who are sentenced prisoners with a high security classification will for the first time have the option to have their babies live with them in prison. Thirdly the new law will provide more of a mandate to prison authorities to ensure that if a child in a mother’s care is being breastfed she will be given the opportunity and space to do so. At the same time the bill does not discriminate against mothers who cannot breastfeed or who are not breastfeeding. They will have the same option of keeping their baby with them as circumstances allow. 
There were two major reasons for my placing this bill in the members’ bills ballot in the first place. I was first of all struck by stories from groups working with women in prison of mothers being refused any chance to breastfeed their newborn baby and of prison authorities in some cases using the right to breastfeed as a way of keeping women in line to be granted or denied at the will of corrections officers. At a time when health authorities around the world and our own Government here at home are promoting breastfeeding as giving the best possible start in life where mothers can manage it it seemed unbelievable that the best interests of the child could be served so poorly and in such a cavalier fashion within our corrections system. 
On this matter I will quote from the commentary to the bill signed up to by all members on the Law and Order Committee which states among other things: “When there is no other reason to terminate the placement [of a baby with an imprisoned mother] we expect that removing access to breastfeeding will not be used as a tool of prison management or discipline.” I hope this message will be sent very clearly throughout the corrections service right away. It does not require special budgets or the building of new facilities. I also hope that there will be more encouragement within the corrections service for mothers to feed and bond with their babies breastfeeding or not even where they are unable to keep their babies with them full-time. 
The second primary motivating factor for my putting this bill forward was that I have for a long time been moved—as any one of us here today who has breastfed and nurtured their own children would be—by the torment suffered by mothers who either suddenly find themselves without their baby or have their baby removed as a result of imprisonment or of the rules around their security classification. I had also at one time in my life in the wake of the Springbok Tour gone through a High Court case where the risk of possible imprisonment was high at a time when I was breastfeeding my own newborn daughter. On the day the eight of us involved were about to be sentenced I realised the full horror of what it would mean to be separated from my baby Katie for months or years. I will always be grateful to that judge who gave us all a suspended prison sentence. 
There are heartrending stories some of which we heard during the select committee process of mothers who went through the emotional rollercoaster of being told while pregnant that they could and then could not keep their baby with them—on again and off again—in a way that was emotionally absolutely devastating and traumatic. We heard of the grief of mothers who had their baby taken from their arms after the allocated time was up. We heard of women who had turned their lives round after being allowed the privilege of keeping their baby with them. Evidence came to us that for some women the opportunity to keep their baby in prison was life-changingly positive. We have also heard of the opposite impact which happens when one’s baby is torn away—it has the reverse impact on rehabilitation and on one’s chances when one gets out of prison again. 
The bill we are passing today will not solve all the problems of all mothers with babies in prison but it will certainly improve things for some. Its priority—and this should be noted—is to put the interests of the child first and to ensure that mothers who are enabled to keep their babies with them are fit to do so. Babies will be placed with their mother only if she wants to have the baby with her and if she signs a parenting agreement with a wide range of conditions. Mothers will also be able to keep their babies only if suitable facilities are available in the prison system for mother and child. 
In the final stages of the bill the Government made it clear that there are fiscal limitations—as Minister Goff has just pointed out—on how fast the corrections service will be able to develop more suitable housing for babies and mothers both in terms of babies staying in until they are up to 2 years old or even 2 years and 3 months old and in regard to the way in which different classifications of prisoners are required to be kept separate from each other. It is for this reason that the Green Party accepted the Minister of Corrections’ Supplementary Order Paper 174 which was introduced during the Committee stage. It means this legislation will be applied only as and how facilities exist and are developed but I have also accepted the Minister’s assurance that money will be invested immediately to begin to extend the facilities available. Because of the substantial cross-party support for this bill it is my sincere hope that whichever combination of parties forms the next Government this commitment will continue and grow to allow more and more mothers where possible and desirable to keep their babies with them. 
I realise that with a member’s bill like this it would not be realistic to expect a huge Budget allocation in the first instance given the pressures on Government Budgets in general and on the Department of Corrections in particular but at the same time without any financial commitment at all the bill would have been meaningless. I offer hearty thanks to Minister Phil Goff for his understanding of and support for what is being attempted here and for that initial Budget allocation. 
I also extend my sincere thanks to the parties in this House that are voting for the bill and have done so right through from beginning to end. Labour New Zealand First United Future National the Maori Party and the ACT party are all I understand voting for this bill. I think this support is a tribute to the compassion of the MPs and the parties concerned and to their understanding that this bill is above all about the welfare of babies whose need and right to bond with their mothers from birth if at all possible should be paramount in our thinking. 
I further acknowledge my fellow MPs on the Law and Order Committee that dealt with this bill and who are not a crew with whom I normally work. I thank all of those members but particularly Martin Gallagher from Labour who chaired the committee and Simon Power from National who proved to be an astute voice and sounding board for many of the issues arising from our consideration. I thank also the select committee staff and Government officials who helped with all the backroom work on the bill. 
Similarly I give a big thankyou to all the submitters. We had 58 submissions in all which is quite a large number given the small size of the bill the lack of controversy around it and the fact that it deals with only a tiny segment of the population. However my remarking that this bill was not particularly controversial is not to say that it does not have its critics. I was particularly struck by submissions from some who said we should not have any mothers with babies in prison at all. I agree with them but unfortunately the Green Party has not so far been in a position to be able to champion things like the piloting of habilitation or community justice centres outside prison walls much less many other much-needed reforms to our corrections and justice systems. 
I see the measure we are taking today as just one stage on a much longer journey towards the progressive reform of our prison system. Once again I acknowledge all those who have helped us take this small but critical and much-needed step forward.