Collins Judith: Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Collins Judith: Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 17 November 2009. Volume:659;Page:7724. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Corrections) 
: 
 I move  
That the Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill be now read a second time 
. The return of this bill to the House marks an important step towards implementing the Government’s policy to allow the contract management of New Zealand’s prisons on a case by case basis. The Government wants New Zealand to have a world-class corrections system. Allowing private companies to manage prisons will create opportunities to benefit from private sector initiative and expertise. In doing so we will encourage more innovation and we stand to achieve greater efficiencies and effectiveness in New Zealand’s corrections system. 
As this bill has now returned from the Law and Order Committee I take this opportunity to thank the select committee for its hard work in its consideration of the bill and of the public submissions it received. I especially thank the chair of the committee Sandra Goudie MP. I also acknowledge and thank those members of the public who took the time to make submissions to the select committee. The bill attracted submissions from a wide range of people and organisations and these were all taken into account during the committee’s deliberations. Many submissions acknowledged that the Department of Corrections is under enormous pressure. This has not changed. I recently announced that the prison population in New Zealand had reached its highest level ever. The department is fast reaching the point where the number of prisoners will exceed the number of beds available. Addressing this issue and improving the performance of the corrections system overall is one of the Government’s top priorities. 
Allowing for contract-managed prisons gives us an opportunity to create a corrections system that is modern effective and efficient. The Government is committed to achieving this in a way that is consistent with the principles of the Corrections Act 2004. These principles are to improve public safety and contribute to the maintenance of a just society. This must be done through the safe secure humane and effective containment of prisoners. This bill does not contravene any of these important principles. 
Under the provisions of the bill the chief executive of the Department of Corrections will remain responsible for all prisoners in New Zealand and accountable for what happens to them. This includes prisoners held in contract-managed prisons. As a result we will expect contract-managed prisons to comply with the same obligations and standards as the prisons directly managed by the department. Contract-managed prisons will have to comply with all relevant New Zealand legislation. This includes contractual obligations to comply with the Corrections Act and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The bill also imposes contractual obligations on private prisons to comply with all relevant international obligations and standards. Failure to comply with the relevant New Zealand legislation or our international obligations would be a breach of contract and could result in its termination. 
The bill imposes further contractual obligations to specify the objectives and performance standards of each contract-managed prison. These include objectives and performance standards for the management of the prison as well as for the management and care of prisoners. The performance standards and requirements that we will expect will be no less than those we expect in our own prisons. The bill also addresses the concern that contract-managed prisons will attempt to increase profits by having fewer staff than a public prison. It will be a contractual requirement for each private prison to appoint and train sufficient suitable staff to enable them to carry out their statutory and contractual obligations. The bill requires every prison under contract management to provide rehabilitative and reintegrative programmes that will help prisoners address the causes of their offending and will assist their reintegration into society. 
In order to comply with these contractual obligations prison managers will be subject to comprehensive reporting requirements. These include regular reporting on staff training on incidents involving violence or self-harm and on the rehabilitation and reintegration programmes provided for prisoners. In addition prison contractors must report promptly all escapes and deaths in custody. Failure to comply with any of these requirements would be a breach of contract. 
The bill also contains a number of mechanisms to ensure that contractors are accountable and are complying with the terms of their contracts. Particularly important to ensure accountability and compliance will be the prison monitors who will regularly report to the chief executive. A prison monitor will be appointed to every contract-managed prison. The prison monitor will have free and unfettered access to all parts of a private prison. This includes access to all prisoners and staff. The primary purpose of prison monitors will be to oversee the contractors’ compliance the terms of the contract and the requirements of the law. Prison monitors will also be able to investigate any issue in a private prison at the behest of the chief executive or on their own initiative. 
I am pleased to report that following deliberations by the select committee the role of prison monitors has been expanded to enhance their functionality in two key respects. The chief executive will be able to appoint additional monitors to private prisons to assist the primary monitor. Additional monitors will be used in situations where increased surveillance may be required. For example additional monitors may be appointed to a prison to provide 24-hour monitoring or an extra monitor may simply be appointed to a particularly large prison. The chief executive will also be able to appoint specialist monitors for particular purposes. These monitors will investigate any matter related to a contract-managed prison at the request of the chief executive or on their own initiative. It is intended that their primary purpose will be to respond to specific issues raised by the monitors based in private prisons. This could include for example investigating criminal activity in prison. This will allow for a thorough investigation to be conducted while not interfering with the day-to-day role of the resident prison monitor. 
The select committee made other minor changes to the bill. It recognised the importance of providing prisoners with employment and skill development. The bill now requires specific reporting on the provision of employment and skill development to prisoners. The bill already has a requirement to report on the rehabilitative and reintegrative programmes provided for prisoners. However employment and skills development are also essential activities to help prisoners in their eventual reintegration into the community. It was agreed that these activities had to be recognised in their own right with separate reporting requirements. 
Additionally the bill has been amended to address the flow of information between staff at contract-managed prisons the Department of Corrections and other Government agencies. This amendment is to ensure that the current sharing of information on prisoners between the Department of Corrections and other Government agencies will continue notwithstanding that some prisoners will be in a contract-managed prison. This is because other Government agencies—such as the Police the Ministry of Social Development and the Department of Labour—often need this information in order to perform their functions and duties. 
The changes made by the select committee that I have just highlighted will provide even greater protection for prisoners and will increase the department’s ability to monitor a contractor’s performance and compliance. These changes will enhance the effectiveness and functionality of the bill. As a result this bill will allow the Government to reap the benefits of private sector innovation in prison management while providing adequate safeguards for the secure safe and humane custody of prisoners. As the Minister of Corrections I firmly believe that this bill will provide an effective statutory framework for the regulation and control of privately managed prisons in New Zealand. As such I am committed to its successful implementation. I commend this bill to the House for its second reading.