Young Jonathan: Corrections Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Young Jonathan: Corrections Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 28 February 2012. Volume:677;Page:627. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth) 
: 
 I am very pleased to stand and speak on the Corrections Amendment Bill which contains 50 legislative amendments that are aimed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our corrections system. I am very pleased to hear my colleague speak about the advancement and the improvement of the corrections system under this National-led Government. We know that in February 2009 just months after the change of Government following 9 years of the previous administration the Auditor-General published an independent performance audit report: “The report concluded that the cumulative effect of the levels of non-compliance with Department of Corrections’ … procedures undermined the Department’s ability to protect the public.” We have seen over these last 3 years many many improvements in its compliance and in what it has done to protect New Zealanders so much so that positive random drug-tests of prisoners are at their lowest as my colleague said. 
Public confidence has increased by 53 percent—it is not at 53 percent but it has increased by 53 percent. Prisoners have achieved 108000 New Zealand Qualifications Authority credits in literacy and numeracy. So there are many programmes being undertaken in our corrections facilities that are bringing some very positive changes to the prisoners’ lives and also to the safety of those who are instructed to run those facilities. 
We all know that the vast majority of inmates who are in prison will one day re-enter society and it is a challenging goal to assist prisoners to re-enter society successfully. It is true that this can be quite a challenge if a prisoner has a drug habit or is an alcoholic. These addictions contribute significantly to the mental health issues that many prisoners have. Therefore having laws and regulations that effectively assist corrections officers to detect drug taking is incredibly important for the physical and mental well-being of the prisoner for the safety of corrections staff and for the improved ability for a prisoner to be able to reintegrate into society once they are released. Prisoners who become free from drug and alcohol dependency and all that that fosters in their lives will be less violent in the society that they re-enter. 
So overall the current legislation provides a sound framework for our corrections system but there are some amendments in this amendment bill that are going to bring further tools. For example it is going to make it an offence for prisoners to water-load before drug testing. For those who may not know what that means simply it is the extensive intake of fluids to dilute a prisoner’s urine prior to taking a drug test. That will become an offence and when prison officers do this drug test they will be able to detect drug taking. Once drug taking is detected they can then put in programmes to help that prisoner come off dependency. That is a very important aspect of the prisoner’s rehabilitation process. 
Another aspect of this amendment bill is that it will allow prisoners to work—in a sense be self-employed—in a prison facility. At the moment there are currently no provisions in the Corrections Act that expressly provide for prisoners to be self-employed in prison or that allow deductions to be made from moneys earned by a prisoner from self-employment while they are in prison. Apart from reducing the cost to the taxpayer by having a prisoner contribute to his or her board and also contribute to reparation or childcare these savings are important for the taxpayer—we know there is an incredible ballooning cost to the Department of Corrections—but it is also important because it is starting to bring in the responsibility of a prisoner to contribute to the aspects of his or her life and the consequences of what he or she has done whether that be by paying reparation or childcare. 
We live in a society where skills are essential. Low skills equals low income and getting an education and skills training is imperative for people to become socially mobile. As I said before prisoners achieved 108000 New Zealand Qualifications Authority credits in literacy and numeracy in 2010-11. There is a very strong programme to lift educational skills in our prisoner population. Added to skills building developing a strong work ethic is an integral part of building a positive self-esteem that once again works towards a successful reintegration. So there are many aspects of this amendment bill that are going to work very positively for our prisoner population—positively not only for their sense of well-being and their health in a prison facility but also as they leave that facility and become integrated into society they will be free from drug and alcohol addiction and they will have some skills some self-esteem and a work ethic that these amendments will enable to be built. It is going to be something very positive for these people. Thank you.