4. Prisons—Prison PopulationSIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) to the Minister of CorrectionsPrisons—Prison Population4. SIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) to the Minister of Corrections: Does he stand by his Government's intention to reduce the prison population by 30 percent over the next 15 years; if so how?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Justice) on behalf of the Minister of Corrections: Yes; and by being smarter than the previous Government.Simon O'Connor: What is his specific target for a prison population reduction over his first term of Government?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: It is not possible to break down a target of over 15 years on a three-year by three-year basis. But what the Minister can commit to as a Government is that it is not going to continue on the current trajectory set under the previous Government which by 2028 would see a 50 percent increase in our prison population. What is happening now is not working and it's going to be better.Simon O'Connor: Will he rule out the early release of prisoners in order to meet any target they may come up with in three years one year 15 years?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: We have seen a rapid increase in the prison population over the last three years alone. If we want to avoid continuing the current trend which will see a 50 percent increase in the prison population in just 10 years' time then we have to do things differently. So we will manage parole we will manage bail and we will manage offenders in a smarter way that preserves public safety but actually fixes people who do bad things.Simon O'Connor: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. While I appreciate that the Minister speaking on behalf of Kelvin Davis has articulated a number of topics my question was incredibly specific around one particular option which is the early release of prisoners and I would appreciate that being at least addressed.Mr SPEAKER: And I thought that buried in the answer was a response to that.Simon O'Connor: What is the forecast impact on prison numbers of an additional 1800 sworn police officers?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: A growth in police numbers will have two particular impacts. One is that it will help to prevent more crime being committed and so that has the effect of reducing the potential future prison population. The other is that with good community and rural policing police get closer to their communities and when people are detained for committing offences early intervention can prevent them from getting to prison.Simon O'Connor: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. While again I appreciate the answer again the question was quite specific around forecasted impacts. And we know from previous policy that there is a forecasted impact and that's what I've asked for not the generalities given.Mr SPEAKER: Ask the question again with no penalty.Simon O'Connor: What is the forecast impact on prison numbers of an additional 1800 sworn police officers?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I have received no advice on the forecast impact of 1800 police officers but I have received advice on the very positive impact that additional police officers will have on reducing the number of offenders and reducing the number of offenders who wind up in prison.Simon O'Connor: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. If he is using official advice as he's referenced here is he prepared to table it and do we know the font?Mr SPEAKER: Well no. Just to make it absolutely clear that the Minister has to be quoting it—and I was watching. Unless the Minister has an incredible memory and he was quoting verbatim a document that he has in the House but wasn't looking at there's no chance of him being currently quoting from an official document.