Lotu-Iiga Sam: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLotu-Iiga Sam: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 11 August 2015. Volume:707;Page:5603. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (Minister of Corrections): It is an honour to take a call on the Appropriation (2015/16 Estimates) Bill. I just want to touch on some of the areas of corrections that members across the Chamber have alluded to. We will agree across this Chamber firstly that the safety and security of staff of the New Zealand public and of prisoners is paramount—it is paramount. Secondly as has been alluded to by colleagues across the Chamber the rehabilitation of offenders is also really important. It is important because most of the offenders who go to prison ultimately get out and we have got to get them reintegrated and rehabilitated so that they can take part meaningfully in our society once they return to civil society.I just want to touch on a couple of points that members across the aisle talked about today. It is about justice for people and I like many across this country was appalled at some of the footage around the fight clubs that were allegedly happening at the Mt Eden Corrections Facility. That is why we put in place a review by the chief inspectorate overseen by the independent office of the Ombudsman which is really important. I urge members in this Chamber as well as the general public that if they have any evidence of the allegations of violence and of corruption that have been bandied around this House and of the accusations loosely made against different people in Serco and people across the prison estate to bring it forward. Bring it forward to the chief inspectorate bring it forward to the investigators who are currently going through all the issues that are being bandied around in society because what we need is a thorough review and investigation of the facts we need a report that will look into these matters and then we need to sensibly make decisions that affect not just Serco but the prison estate right across this country.I just want to touch on the estimates in terms of what we are doing in corrections and how we are doing in corrections. The reoffending rate since 2011 has come down 9 percent—just over 9 percent—so it is currently just over 27 percent. I was in Australia recently for the Ministers’ conference and when you look at reoffending rates in Australia you see that for New South Wales it is over 42 percent—over 42 percent—so that is 50 percent more than in New Zealand. In Queensland it is in the high 30s—high 30s.So when we look at our system and how we are doing compared with our Australian neighbours—who are the most important neighbours we have the most important partners with a jurisprudential system that is very similar to our own—we are actually doing far better in terms of reoffending and we are doing far better in terms of rehabilitation. It is one of the reasons why the South Australian Minister visited me last week and asked what we were doing around rehabilitation and what we were doing around reintegration because they want to know what we are doing that we are doing well.So although some members will bash the corrections system there is actually a lot that is going on in our system that is really good. There is a lot that we are doing with Māori around tikanga Māori in our prisons to get Māori men particularly connected with their culture connected with their whānau back into society and doing well again.There is so much in our system around employment: a goal of every prison in this country is to be a working prison by 2017. Why is that important? It is because we know that jobs reduce dependency on welfare we know that jobs reduce hardship and we also know that jobs reduce reoffending rates. Jobs keep people out in our communities; enable them to look after feed and house their families their whānau; and enable them to be better citizens in this country. That is why we are going for a full complement of working prisons across the estate—that is both within Serco and within the public prisons.We are also increasing numeracy and literacy in our prisons with programmes. We know that two-thirds of those men predominantly who turn up to our prisons cannot read or write. They are functionally illiterate and that is why we have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tertiary Education Commission and we are now running programmes numeracy and literacy programmes to get these men back learning growing and in jobs.Finally I just want to salute the 8000 men and women in both private and public prisons who are out there every day making this corrections system the best that it can be.