Cosgrove Clayton: Corrections (Use of Court Cells) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Cosgrove Clayton: Corrections (Use of Court Cells) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 24 November 2009. Volume:659;Page:8158. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 That was an astounding speech from Shane Ardern. I generally have a bit of praise for Shane because he is quite a respected member of Parliament around here but I put that speech down to a sort of temporary amnesia. That member knows that in the life of the previous Labour Government we built four new prisons despite the current Minister of Police—and now Mr Ardern has caught the same bug—going around telling everybody that nothing was done in terms of correctional facilities. Mr Ardern needs to recast history and know that we built four new prisons. He nods and he knows that is true and he is probably going to take a point of order and correct his own  
Hansard 
 because he knows it is a load of hooey. Milton prison was one; Spring Hill Corrections Facility was another. I must say that the interesting thing about this debate is those members on the opposite side of the Chamber getting up and saying that nothing was done under Labour and forgetting there were four brand-new prisons built under that Government. 
They also have a bout of amnesia in terms of what they said before the election. Their own National Party policy stated that if National were to implement all their election promises on corrections then the prison population would double. We have the document here as does every other New Zealander who received it in the letterbox. Firstly it says that the Labour Government was not locking enough people up—and National members said it repeatedly we have the quotes here and I am sure Mr Ardern would agree because there was one from him—that Labour was soft on crime and the prisons were bursting. Now that those members are in Government they say: “Oh shock horror!”. The Minister of Corrections lowers the tone of her voice when speaking on the radio and becomes very soft and very benign almost wanting to be beatified and says: “Isn’t it terrible” as she wrings her hands “that we have so many people in prison.” But not a year ago almost to the day it was Judith Collins and her ilk who stood on the other side of the Chamber and said that Labour was not locking up enough criminals. 
The second point I make as I return to the policy of the National Party before the election— 
Paul Quinn 
: What about the birthday cake in the caucus room? 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: —I think that member might be about to blow—is that National put out a pamphlet that said if all its policies were implemented the prison population would double. That is what it said but now it recasts history and the Minister of Corrections says that she did not know this was going to happen. Yet her own party’s policy before the election said that if all the National Party’s law and order commitments were fulfilled it would double the prison population. So that is the “l” word; it is porky No. 1. 
The third point I make is that the Minister forgets she had a briefing as the incoming new Minister that gave her a 1 year ago almost to the day the prison forecast. I recall when I was in Cabinet—and I am sure that Mr Assistant Speaker Barker will recall it as he was there as well—every Monday morning we had a document that showed the prison forecast and the actual numbers. Every time something happened in the community that was outrageous the National Opposition members stood up and said Labour was not locking up enough criminals. It is a bit like Nick Smith saying that New Zealand must show leadership over the emissions trading system when a year ago he said we should not show leadership at all because he was in Opposition. I say to those members: “You can’t fudge history.” That is the point. 
We will support the bill because there is a requirement for flexibility. Court cells were used from time to time under the last Government and we have to put those people somewhere. I accept that but members of the National Government get up and say “Shock horror! The prison figures are outrageous and it is an outrage that New Zealand has the second-largest incarceration rate per head of population in the world.” 
David Garrett 
: No we don’t. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Well that is what they said except the problem with that view is that not 12 months ago during a general election and years before that those members accused the last Government of not locking up enough people. I say to members opposite that they cannot have it both ways. 
The other observation I would make is that I believe we are now perhaps 7 or 8—depending on whether the Leader of the House stuffs it up again—parliamentary days away from the end of the sitting year. The Minister of Corrections has had her forecast for a year and there has been no plan to address this issue. Here we stand in urgency ramming another bill through. Most members never saw it until it was tabled because of the Minister’s own disorganisation. She has bleated about this issue for nigh on 12 months but she has presented no formal strategy or plan. She has a commitment in her election policy to build a new prison yet no money was allocated in the Budget no spade went into the ground and no foundation was laid—nothing. We have no plan from the Government on how to address the prison muster in a formal logical and logistical sense. 
Yet we have heard: “Let’s fire some bunks in; to hell with the security arrangements for prison officers; and to hell with the potential for prison officers getting done over because of the stress rising in the prisons.” I am concerned about those prison officers. We have had the great container campaign: bang a few containers—made in China or wherever—in the odd prison and bodgie a strategy together. Now we have court cells being used. As I say we do not oppose that but we do feel a duty to point out the obvious to members opposite because when they were in Opposition they railed against the use of police cells and court cells. 
We have already heard from Trevor Mallard quoting Simon Power who in Opposition said that it was outrageous that we were doing that and that all hell was breaking loose in the prisons because court cells were being used. Tony Ryall as Opposition spokesperson on corrections also railed against that practice yet 12 months into the ether we see members opposite standing up one after another led by the nose reading out National research unit notes and proclaiming that this is a great strategy. Well as we move through this debate I would like to know about the logistical arrangements and what provision has been made—for I talked to a senior prison staffer yesterday—for prison officers within our court buildings. Court buildings are used at particular times as we know and court cells are required to be used by the judiciary for the administration of alleged criminals from time to time each day. I ask where the security arrangements are where the extra staff are and where the basic logistical requirements for the prison officers who have to guard these prisons are—that is offices if they need them and beds if they need them or do they share a cell in the court with the prisoner? None of those issues have been addressed and I would like to know where the budget and where the resources are coming from in respect of that issue. 
I point out to members opposite their scattergun approach to muster management after 12 months in Government. We hear the groans on cue—if Mr Quinn is awake—that the Labour Government had 9 years to do it. That is dead right and we built four prisons. But we were criticised by the then National Opposition. 
Carmel Sepuloni 
: And crime dropped under us. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Crime did drop under us but we still put in place formal prison systems. We built four prisons. Those folk in their manifesto said they were going to build a prison or a number of them. We have heard nothing seen nothing and nothing has been done in that respect. They have been in office for 12 months. I would have thought that at least the concrete would go down or that the odd bit of iron or steel would go in as the foundations were raised and the construction begun 12 months ago. But there was nothing in the Budget and no mention of it from the Minister. 
Yet we have a bit of double-bunking which I fear. My fear is not for the prisoners in this respect but what will occur to the prison officers if the stress level is ratcheted up in those prisons. OK prisoners are locked up in the cells but at some point they have to be unlocked. It will not be members opposite who turn the key and open the door and get punched in the face by the prisoner. It will not be those members as they are closeted behind the glass upstairs; it will be our prison service folk. It will be no one in this Chamber who gets done over. Then we have the scattergun approach in the use of containers—drop a few out of the sky here a few there. But we cannot get the cost for those. There are three or four costs for those but no one can tell us what it will cost or how long they will last. 
I predict that after the Government has done the containerisation of prisoners and has built—if it does—a new prison the taxpayer will be up for far more than had the Government done the job properly and fulfilled National’s election promise. Then at the eleventh hour we have this logical move I accept to utilise court cells and no one opposes that on our side. But with 8 days to go in the parliamentary year that is the sort of forethought and foresight exhibited. That is the planning and logistical strategising exhibited by this Minister of Corrections. “Last-minute Louis” with 8 days to go says: “Let’s do this” when I presume that Cabinet or at least her office gets the prison forecast every week if not every couple of days as we did when we were Ministers. This is forecast to go through. 
I would also like to know whether the claims made by the Department of Corrections are true that there are indeed around 100 to 150 beds available in our prisons. We support this bill but we believe that those members should be held to account for their comments last year.