Clendon David: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeClendon David: General Debate[Sitting date: 05 March 2014. Volume:696;Page:16344. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DAVID CLENDON (Green): We heard earlier this afternoon in question time about some improvements in the delivery of drug and alcohol treatment to inmates in our prisons and that is a good thing. I suspect that it will not be sufficient but it is a step forward and I acknowledge that this Minister of Corrections has made some genuine efforts to improve the situation around imprisonment and incarceration. It is too little but at least there are some good ideas and some good initiatives being seen.Sadly in the overall picture however we have a very long way to go. I believe that some New Zealanders would be disappointed and surprised and even ashamed at some of the events and some of the conditions that are observable in some of our prisons. We have had two recent documents from watchdogs independent bodies with no political axe to grind that are very clearly and very graphically outlining some of the appalling conditions that people are being subject to in our prisons—something that is way below the mark for a country that prides itself on respect for human rights and the rule of law.A report from the Human Rights Commission in DecemberMonitoring Places of Detention talked about the dreadful conditions in at least two of our prisons to which segregated prisoners are being subjected. It talks about particularly bad living conditions for segregated inmates at Auckland and Mt Eden prisons. It refers to accommodation for prisoners currently undergoing periods of segregation as being “well below standard and could be considered cruel and inhumane for the purpose of the Convention Against Torture.” I believe that it would shock and disappoint many New Zealanders that we are subjecting inmates in our prisons to conditions that could be considered cruel and inhumane under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. It is simply not good enough and it is something that we need to pay some real attention to.There were general shortcomings found in the whole matter of segregation in that document in that report. We are told that part of the solution is a rebuild of the maximum security wing at Pāremoremo prison but that will not begin until some time later this year. I ask the question: when there is such a patent need for decent humane accommodation for these inmates why has that work at Pāremoremo not been advanced ahead of the $900 million white elephant currently being constructed at Wiri?The second document the second report from just a few weeks ago is a special investigation into the management of a prisoner by the name of Arthur Taylor at Auckland prison. Again this finds that Mr Taylor was initially put into segregation for a period of 14 days for the possession of a cellphone which yes is something he ought not to have had. That 14-day segregation was extended to 8 months. For 8 months this man was subjected effectively to 23-hours-a-day lockdown. He was deprived of association with and the company of other inmates. He was deprived of basic minimum requirements that ought to be provided to every inmate. Those findings come from our own Office of the Ombudsmen which I would argue is beyond dispute in terms of its observation. For 8 months the Department of Corrections failed to follow its own rules. There was a complete breakdown in its checks and balances. Decisions were made in advance of information being presented. There were process failures which have been noted by the ombudsman. There were failures to provide even minimum requirements. For many days and indeed weeks at a time this inmate had no access to exercise in the outside.This situation needs a response. It is no light matter. I have signed a letter along with others including a QC and barristers asking the Commissioner of Police to consider whether criminal charges ought to be brought against the management of Pāremoremo prison and indeed against the Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections fortheir failure in their duty of care to inmates. They are legislatively obliged to ensure that the inmates in our prisons are treated decently and humanely. According to the evidence of the ombudsman and the Human Rights Commission they failed in their duty of care in ways that could well put them in contravention of our Crimes of Torture Act. We have asked the police to investigate that. We need to do a great deal better in our prisons. It is not good enough and we look to a better time with a more progressive Government. Kia ora.