Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:638;Page:8746] 
9.  
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 
: Why has another inmate been beaten in a prison van when the Minister told this House last year that he did not offer to resign after Liam Ashley’s death because “I have a clear responsibility to oversee changes to the corrections system to prevent such a tragedy from occurring ever again in the future.”? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Thankfully such a tragedy has not occurred again. I instructed that changes be made at that time; they were made. I am currently awaiting the outcome of an independent ombudsman’s report into prisoner transportation and we are looking at other ways of improving the situation including the use of restraints. 
Simon Power 
: Can the Minister confirm his response to written questions that the project team he set up to review prisoner transport after Liam Ashley’s death has yet to report back after 8 months and has yet to meet with the Corrections Association to seek its input; and how can the Ashley family to use his own words “be reassured that we are doing everything we can to prevent similar tragedies occurring in the future.”? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I expected that project team to look thoroughly at this very important area. I expect that its report will be before me within the next week. I will take a look at the recommendations. We will discuss those with the union and with senior management and make the changes as necessary. 
Simon Power 
: Does the Minister agree with the Prime Minister’s view that it is “odd” that prisoners who ask to be segregated are grouped together when being transported or do he and his department have a different understanding of the word “segregation” from the rest of the country—including the Prime Minister? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: The prisoners were separated according to policy. It was odd that we had a mix of prisoners in that one compartment. That is why we are making changes—to ensure that such a situation does not occur again.  
Simon Power 
: Does the Minister know that “segregated” means to be kept apart? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Segregation does not mean isolation. Prisoners are managed within the prison system according to policies related to segregation. Those policies are consistent both in the prisons and in the transportation system. 
Simon Power 
: How can the Minister have confidence in his department when it spends $100000 a month transferring prisoners around the country—including spending almost a half a million dollars a year on chartered air flights—and paid $190 a night to keep inmates in police cells 57000 times in the last year at a total cost of just under $11 million; and how much time do these inmates actually spend in their own cells? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: No one would deny that running the corrections system in this country is a very expensive exercise. We will do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of the community and as we transport prisoners around this country we will spend the money necessary to ensure that safety.