Genter Julie Anne: Corrections Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Genter Julie Anne: Corrections Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 28 February 2012. Volume:677;Page:634. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson. Tena koutou e te Whare. As the Green Party spokesperson on justice I am pleased to rise and following my distinguished colleague David Clendon take our second call on the Corrections Amendment Bill. As my colleague has already noted in depth the Green Party has serious concerns and misgivings about this amendment bill as it seems to continue the erosion of prisoners’ human rights and treat them as subhuman. 
I have noticed there is a tendency to conflate two different reasons for punishment of a crime. One philosophy seeks to exercise vengeance on those who have been convicted of transgressing the law. Punishment for the sake of punishment at any cost is the purpose of imprisonment according to this view. Another approach is a bit more pragmatic. It asks how we can best minimise the harm to society that comes from transgression of a law and how we can prevent it from happening again. This latter approach tries to get the best outcome for the future of our country. These two approaches to crime and punishment are often at odds. If we write off the potential for rehabilitation if we fail to understand the underlying causes of a crime if we seek to punish criminals for the sake of it and if we deny prisoners basic human rights and dignity we will pay for it. We will pay the cost of having to imprison more people for longer if our justice system alienates those who could have otherwise become constructive citizens. If you fail to treat people with basic human dignity they will respond in kind. This amendment is very much in line with the punitive philosophy which seeks to punish and control as opposed to looking out for what is really in the best interests of New Zealand. 
I would like to speak to the increased ability of prison staff to search prisoners. This amendment bill is removing a requirement that an officer must obtain a prison manager’s approval to conduct a strip-search. Not only that but it is extending the ability to strip-search. I am going to read directly from the bill. Clause 26(1) substitutes paragraph (f) in section 90(2). So now a strip-search can require that the prisoner must “with his or her legs spread apart bend his or her knees until his or her buttocks are adjacent to his or her heels:”. Could everyone just imagine what that would feel like? 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: This is way too much information. 
JULIE ANNE GENTER 
: That is my point. It is too much is it not? The bill also now allows a prison officer without having sought approval from a manager to use additional devices to magnify or illuminate the area that they are examining. Is this not an example of treating prisoners as subhuman? Do we really think that that is going to stop people from trying to bring in contraband? In fact why must we have these additional provisions and ability? 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Because they might bring in stuff. 
JULIE ANNE GENTER 
: Well if that is the case then I ask why the previous Minister said in April 2011: “New laws targeting drugs and contraband cellphone jamming”—and other provisions—“at all New Zealand prisons and increased vigilance by Corrections staff have made it much harder to get drugs into our prisons. The low number of positive drugs tests show these initiatives are working.” So why do we need to enable people to go even further and deeper into prisoners’ bodies to search their cells to open their mail? 
It also invites abuse particularly when we are looking at the private sector. There have been numerous psychological studies notably the Stanford prison experiment which show that our behaviour is malleable. Whether we are prison officers doing very difficult work or whether we are prisoners we respond in kind to the behaviour that others expect of us. 
So the Green Party cannot support this bill because it is not in the long-term interest of New Zealand. It is extending the ability of prison officers and inviting abuse. Therefore we will be opposing it. Thank you.