Mark Ron: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Mark Ron: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:617;Page:13139] 
9.  
RON MARK (NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Corrections 
: Is he satisfied with the way State prisons are being administered? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN (Minister of Corrections) 
: 
 Generally yes. 
Ron Mark 
: Why is it that on 2 May when I first asked how many female prison officers had been counselled or disciplined for having sexual relationships with male inmates he answered three a week later he answered five and 2 weeks later the number he gave was 17; and with regard to inappropriate relationships between male prison officers and inmates can he explain the difference between the number he gave in answer to my recent written questions and the number now reported in the  
New Zealand Herald 
 this morning? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Because the original information given to me was wrong and I will look into it. 
Martin Gallagher 
: Is there clear evidence that programmes provided by the Department of Corrections have been shown to reduce reoffending? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: There most certainly is. The department is doing a great deal to reduce reoffending. For example treatment of offenders by the department’s own highly qualified psychologists has been proven to reduce subsequent offending by between 18 and 22 percent over a 5-year period. In addition studies of the department’s Kia Marama and Te Piriti sex offender programmes have been consistently shown to halve the reoffending rate of sex offenders. They are world-leading programmes. 
Marc Alexander 
: How can the Minister have confidence in the State management of prisons when last year seven prisons reported that at least one-fifth of their inmates tested positive for drugs and that Wanganui Prison New Plymouth Prison and Manawatu Prison have a positive drugs-test rate of over 30 percent? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Drugs in prisons is unacceptable. However the reality is that they are also found in private prisons as well. It is an international problem and we are doing our best to get on top of it. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Does the Minister believe that the situation of sexual harassment within prisons will be improved by the fact that the department for which he is responsible has appointed to the position of sexual harassment officer in that area a man in Canterbury who put his penis on a bar and allowed his manager to hit it with a bottle? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: I have expressed my concern to the department about that matter. 
Ron Mark 
: Does the Minister concede that he simply does not know how many prison officers male or female have been involved in inappropriate relationships with inmates because the management of our prisons is in total disarray and is that not in itself reason for him to agree to my request for a full comprehensive and independent commission of inquiry into this whole sordid affair? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: No and no. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Given the Minister’s support for the rehabilitative aspects of prison could he tell the House how much the Department of Corrections spends on rehabilitation within prisons and does he consider that an adequate amount given the relatively high rate of reoffending by people when they come out of prison? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: I cannot exactly recall the dollars and cents but the department spends around $45 million a year on rehabilitation programmes. Is it enough? No. I am now concerned about the resettlement programmes from prison to the community. We are going to pilot some things and we are going to make sure we get it right. After that has been done I hope to go back to the Minister of Finance to discuss options and possibilities with him. 
Ron Mark 
: If the Minister does not believe that any commission of inquiry is necessary can he tell the House whether there is any truth in the allegation that in Paparua prison an investigation is currently going on as to an inmate who had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female prison officer and that the same inmate has had an inappropriate relationship with a male prison officer? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: I do not know the specific cases but if investigations are going on the system is working.