Webb DuncanDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central): Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. Can I say that it is a huge pleasure to stand up and speak on this bill which is yet another leap forward in corrections on top of the fantastic and pragmatic work that the Minister of Corrections has done to date. I think what this bill shows is that it's not all about the rules; it's also about how those rules are implemented on the ground. I must say that when I was put on the Justice Committee and this bill was before us I resolved that I should exercise my right as an MP and go and look at the prisons so I knew exactly what I was talking about and I have done that. I would challenge all MPs to go and do that so that when they talk about double-bunking they can say that they've seen a cell with two beds in it—the cells that are used—and then make their own judgment as a human being as to whether that is a humane way to incarcerate a person. I must say that while it is certainly incarceration—and incarceration is not pleasant by any means—it is humane those cells. The regulations and the Act set out the basis for that kind of imprisonment so that the dignity of the prisoners is still preserved—so that there is enough space in those cells for two prisoners to be kept there. So what we have here is not the wishy-washy position that existed under previous legislation but we are front-footing it and saying quite clearly that it is appropriate to have shared cells and not only that but it also makes clear that residential-style accommodation is appropriate as well. What we see if we go to prison is ideally a transition. From a sometimes very high - security imprisonment or high-security imprisonment—which is I must say pretty brutal as it must be—those prisoners transition over time to a freer situation where they are able to mix with other prisoners in perhaps a shared cell although as the Minister has repeatedly said under this Government the amount of prisoners that are sharing cells is diminishing as we speak. The prison population is falling year on year because of the steps that have been taken in this Government. So what we have is a pragmatic and honest approach to what's going on and I must say that the other thing I was very impressed with was the mother and child unit at Christchurch Women's Prison. I must say it gave a real sense of hope to see these women who had obviously fallen foul of the law caring for their children and finding in that real meaning and they were also being taught how to care for those children in accommodation which was very much like a social housing unit where there was a community. So when children are not able to be placed with their mothers or that is the decision that's made there's an ability for that to be revisited. Also in there is the ability to revisit the placement of people away from whānau because we know that those connections—and this is the wider point—are important for when people get back into the community and when people return to family to whānau and when we have people who are placed near family they can maintain those connections. So in this situation we have a much more humane approach. Further there is the fleshing out of the management of prisoners at risk of self-harm so that they also can be dealt with humanely. They can be dealt with in a way which takes into account their special needs and they can be isolated appropriately and dealt with with the appropriate dignity and the Minister himself talked about the need for being cautious around procedures like strip-searches which are of themselves traumatic. So this is an excellent piece of legislation. It's legislation which really tidies up and takes prison management into the 21st century. It also makes interface as well with the practice of prison and I think that's a very important matter. I commend this bill to the House.