Ririnui Mita: Corrections (Use of Court Cells) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Ririnui Mita: Corrections (Use of Court Cells) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 24 November 2009. Volume:659;Page:8178. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Labour) 
: 
 I stand to take a call because I think the timing is probably convenient if not perfect. As Labour speakers have made it clear we will be supporting the Corrections (Use of Court Cells) Amendment Bill. However some issues need to be addressed. I want to acknowledge the issues raised by the Hon Clayton Cosgrove and Sue Kedgley in relation to the impact that safety issues will have on court staff on the police and on the general public. As you know Mr Chair having been a former Minister for Courts and having visited courts court cells are not the most secure places in our communities. They are not intended to hold prisoners for long periods. I know that this bill will require those prisoners awaiting sentence to be held for 4 days only. But there are still issues surrounding holding an inmate awaiting sentence for that period of time. I will not call them prisoners because they are basically on remand. However issues need to be addressed. 
Certainly the House is aware of the reasons for which the Labour Opposition supports this bill. There were issues that we had to deal with in our time in Government and they meant that some inmates awaiting sentence had to be held in court cells for a limited period of time. But I wonder why the Maori Party supports this bill because there has been no clear explanation from them. I take this opportunity while the Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Dr Pita Sharples is in the Chamber; I know that he is a strong advocate for community justice. I take this call because the Associate Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Georgina Te Heuheu is in the chair and I do not really know what her views are in terms of retention of inmates in court cells. I hope that both Ministers will take a call. 
I know that the Maori Party supported the bill that was debated previously in the House the Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill and I wonder why that is the case as well given that the member for Waiariki totally opposes the establishment of the youth justice facility in the electorate of Waiariki for ideological reasons. He claims that Maori do not support the prison system and therefore should not support the building of those facilities in communities yet when it came to voting on the previous bill there was overwhelming support from the Maori Party. It is the same old story. It is the same story with National which says one thing when it is in Opposition and does another thing in Government. The Maori Party members say one thing in the community but in the House they say and do things that are completely the opposite of what they claim they believe in. I hope that the Minister of Maori Affairs will take a call and explain the reasons why he thinks that Maori should be owners of the prison system. That ideology clashes with the traditional Maori cultural view. He is aware of that as is the Minister in the chair. I wonder why they would not take the opportunity now to take a call and explain why they supported the previous bill that was in the House and why they support this bill. 
Labour members are very straight up front and honest about our views about why the Labour Opposition supports the bill that was debated previously in the House and why we support this bill. We are straight up front and honest about why we support that position. We are here to help the Government because it does not have a clue about what it is doing. It needs help. One year in Government and what has happened? It is scavenging for ideas. This legislation is the best it could come up with. National opposed this type of legislation when it was in Opposition; now it does not have to oppose the legislation because it is making it law. Well how about that! What does the member for Rotorua think? Will he walk down the streets of Rotorua and say to the community: “Don’t worry bros. We will hold you in holding cells for 4 days but the law says we can do it now.” How will he explain that to the Maori rangatira who supported him in some of the work he has done? 
Carmel Sepuloni 
: I don’t think they supported him. 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: They were at his meetings. They ate his food. They drank his coffee. I think we can accept the usual flip-flop behaviour by the National-led Government but once again I really really wonder why the Maori Party has come here today to be present in the Chamber. I am sure that its constituents are waiting with bated breath to hear why the Maori Party supported not only the previous bill but also this bill.