McKelvie Ian: Corrections Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
McKelvie Ian: Corrections Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 28 February 2012. Volume:677;Page:630. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
IAN McKELVIE (National—Rangitikei) 
: 
 It gives me great pleasure to speak for the first time on the first reading of the Corrections Amendment Bill as a first-time member of the Law and Order Committee in this House. It is the first time I have spoken to a bill in this House as well. Before commencing I would just— 
Chris Hipkins 
: You never forget your first time.  
IAN McKELVIE 
: There has always got to be a first time Mr Hipkins. Before commencing I wish to congratulate the Minister of Corrections on her appointment and wish her well in the portfolio in the future.  
The purpose of this bill is well documented. However I think its aims are admirable and worth repeating here particularly the fact that it sets out to protect the health and safety of front-line staff and at the same time protect and not compromise the fair and humane treatment of prisoners. The bill is about creating efficiency and effectiveness and at the same time providing for fairness. A feature of this bill that I particularly like is that it sets out to increase opportunities for prisoners to learn business skills and to set up and operate legitimate business operations that they can then continue to operate once released from prison. Equally as significant for me is the opportunity to recover some of the costs of board and lodgings from any monetary returns received as a result of work or business opportunity in that time. It will increase the chance of successful reintegration into society. It will increase the chances of society receiving a small dividend at the same time from those prisoners for the time they have spent incarcerated at the community’s expense.  
This bill allows the Department of Corrections to gain some significant efficiency both internally and through the ability to delegate powers to the managers of contract prisons thus reducing compliance costs and freeing up time. These contract prisons will do a great job and Mt Eden Corrections Facility of course the first of these contains nearly 11 percent of New Zealand’s prisoners. I must say that I was somewhat surprised to learn that there are only some 8500 prisoners in New Zealand and this number has regressed somewhat in recent times. I am equally as surprised and encouraged to learn that there has been a drop in alcohol and drug abuse in that time as well. The other interesting statistic is that last year prisoners—and this has been documented a number of times tonight—achieved a significant number of credits in literacy and numeracy the lack of which is one of the biggest single contributors to crime in this country.  
One may recall that the level of public confidence in the Department of Corrections was particularly poor in the mid-2000s and of great concern to many in our communities—certainly to those working in the corrections business. That confidence is now significantly higher. In fact it is up 53 percent since 2008. It is a great achievement and one that can be improved on further as a result of these changes. When involved in community affairs as I have been in recent years one quickly gets a feel of how different entities are performing throughout your community. I can safely say that morale amongst prison officers and the families of prisoners is better than it has been for some time. I believe that the Department of Corrections is upping its performance significantly and this bill will further that performance. Thank you.