Alexander Marc: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Alexander Marc: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:621;Page:16385] 
3.  
MARC ALEXANDER (United Future) 
 to the  
Minister of Corrections 
: Is he satisfied with the outcomes of the PILLARS family programme run as part of the reintegrative support services to inmates and their families pilot; if so why? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN (Minister of Corrections) 
: 
 I am advised by the Department of Corrections that the PILLARS programme has met the requirements of the contract. However the pilot programme of which PILLARS is a part is currently under review. A decision on the future shape of reintegrative support services is expected shortly. 
Marc Alexander 
: How can the Minister claim to maintain his confidence in the PILLARS programme to the extent that he recently requested a further $2.3 million rollover of funding for the next 2 years—the third since the pilot started in 1999—when the only evidence he could provide to the Minister of Finance that such continuance is justified is “anecdotal” and he could give only a flimsy assurance that overseas research supports that broad type of programme? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Firstly I think the figure the member quotes was the global sum across both programmes—one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. The initial evaluation for 2002-03 showed encouraging results. Across both programmes there was at one time an indication that something like 90 percent of inmates were finding employment so the results were encouraging. But on the basis of the evaluation of the programme decisions are to be made shortly about what we should do in the future. 
Martin Gallagher 
: What plans does the Government have to improve reintegration and resettlement of prisoners once they are released? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Reintegration of ex-inmates into the community is a key priority over the next 12 months. If we can ensure that people are resettled properly and do not return to prison that is a good outcome. I will be launching three new initiatives in this area in November. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Can the Minister confirm that the unsuccessful other tenderer for reintegrative support services funding was the Family Help Trust an organisation that Marc Alexander has personal links to including his donating to it part of the proceeds from the sale of his book—a book which is advertised on its website and in its newsletter? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Firstly I cannot confirm that but I am happy to investigate it further if the member so wishes. As for the second part I have not had a look at the website but I certainly take the member’s word as to what is on the website and in the newsletter. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: If the Minister’s reintegrative policies are so successful why has the reimprisonment rate of released offenders increased? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: As that member would know reintegration and resettlement into communities is a very difficult thing to achieve; he would know that from when National was in power. But my having said that the current performance is not good enough and the focus of the next 12 months is on this particular issue of resettlement and reintegration. I will be launching some initiatives in November that I am sure will find support from the National Party. 
Ron Mark 
: Is it not a fact that of all the reintegration and rehabilitation schemes that the Department of Corrections has been running over the last 20 years the only two that he can point to as having any notable successes at all are orientated towards sex offenders and on that basis does he not think it is about time he went into his own department and gutted it of all the sociologists and thumb-twiddlers who have been wasting taxpayers’ money on rehabilitation for year after year; if he does think that when will he be doing it? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: No and no. 
Marc Alexander 
: Does the Minister believe that his officials’ 2003 evaluation of the PILLARS programme that it “did not provide any substantive evidence of the effectiveness of the model” constitutes the kind of full evaluation that his predecessor Matt Robson promised in exchange for a rollover of a million dollars of pilot funding in 2002; and can he explain why when a further sum of a million dollars was agreed to last year strictly on the condition that a final evaluation of the programme would be conducted that evaluation has not yet been done? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Yes I concede that the full evaluation has not been done but I will say that evaluation of these kinds of programmes and projects is very very difficult. The member will know that it takes a long time after these programmes start to evaluate for example their long-term effects on how people reintegrate back into the community obtain log-term jobs reintegrate with their families etc.—all of which are important. However as I said to the member this issue is currently under review and decisions will be announced shortly. 
Marc Alexander 
: Why when $4.5 million has been spent on this pilot to date—that is nearly $12500 for each offender involved—does he continue to refuse Ministry of Justice advice that this pilot must be formally evaluated which is the accepted notion of what a pilot scheme is supposed to be all about in the first place? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Firstly I have not “refused” the ministry’s advice. I do not do the evaluation; it does. I am hoping though that the member thinks that programmes such as this which allow people who come out of prison to reintegrate into the community re-settle with their families and get jobs are a good thing. I am hoping the member supports that kind of approach. 
Ron Mark 
: Given his answer to my supplementary question is he telling the House that he thinks it is a hallmark of success that 85 percent of all prisoners released into the community go back to jail for reoffending within 5 years and does he expect to get United Future’s sign-off and support on supply and confidence for his budget for the next year? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The first part of the question is relevant to the Minister’s portfolio. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Well no. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: I seek leave to table a couple of pages from the Family Help Trust website showing where we can find Marc Alexander’s book. 
Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.