English Bill:  Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
English Bill:  Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:639;Page:9805] 
1. Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Leader—National) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she have confidence in the Minister of Corrections; if so why? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Acting Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes; because he is a hard-working and conscientious Minister. 
Hon Bill English 
: Does the Prime Minister believe that the Minister of Corrections has done the right thing in failing to hold his department to account for misleading the Ombudsman an Officer of Parliament? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I am not aware that the Minister has failed to hold the department to account for that matter. I am prepared to discuss further with the member the issue of the exact nature of the reports of the Ombudsman. 
Hon Bill English 
: How is it that the Prime Minister is unaware of whether the Minister has held anyone in the Department of Corrections accountable for misleading the Ombudsman; is it the case that she is not taking any notice because she does not think it is important and it is just time to move on? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I assume that the member is referring to the annual report of the Ombudsman for the year ended 2005 in which it was stated that in March 2004 the department had approved new standards in relation to certain matters and that since August all new vehicles had been fitted with the appropriate heating and ventilation systems so that they met the required standard. That in fact was correct. It was also true that the department by the stage of the release of that report had made a decision to withdraw those standards but had not done so at that point. 
Hon Bill English 
: What discussions has she any member of her staff or Cabinet had with the Minister of Corrections about the many weaknesses and continuous flow of scandals coming out of the Department of Corrections and about whether that Minister is capable of fixing any single problem in the department? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: A range of discussions have occurred and of course the Minister is responsible for ensuring that there will now be a major review of the head office and changes in the head office organisation to ensure proper lines of accountability which only a few moments ago the member was calling for. 
Hon Bill English 
: Why does the Prime Minister believe that this Minister is capable of carrying out a full review and correcting all problems when the record of his stewardship since he took office is one of scandal mishandling delay and misleading the public; and why is she so out of line with public opinion on this issue? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: It is clear there have been major failings in the Department of Corrections systems. It is also clear that escapes from prison custody have gone down by 78 percent under this Government and that assaults on Department of Corrections officers by prisoners have reduced by 90 percent under this Government. 
Hon Bill English 
: They can’t escape if they’ve been killed. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: That is a stupid comment coming from the member. One person sadly died in custody. That leaves many thousands of others that under a National Government would have been five times as likely to escape and 10 times as likely to have assaulted a Department of Corrections officer. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Which political party and Government introduced the privatised movement of prisoners where the Department of Corrections is concerned? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The decision to privatise those services was taken under the previous National Government which also wished to privatise the entire prison system—a move that was reversed by the incoming Labour Government. 
Hon Bill English 
: Can the Prime Minister confirm that all the contracts with Chubb were renewed in 2004—under her Government—and that those contracts could be changed at any time but the Department of Corrections did not do so and that the result was that Liam Ashley died? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Indeed the contracts were renewed but they were not responsible for Liam Ashley’s death. His death was due to a significant number of different failings within the system including a communications failure between Department of Corrections and Chubb staff. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Does the Prime Minister have confidence in the Minister of Corrections’ decision to use waist restraints which cuff people’s wrists to their waists on prisoners being transported when the Chief Ombudsman stated that the practice of Chubb to handcuff all prisoners is wrong and when the report clearly argues against the universal use of restraints on prisoners being transported? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think it is worth reminding ourselves that this issue has arisen essentially because a young prisoner in custody was assaulted and killed by another prisoner. There is indeed a trade-off between so-called humane treatment and security including security for other prisoners within the same piece of equipment in which they are travelling. That trade-off is not an easy one. As usual everyone wants to be wise after the event no matter what decision was made. 
Hon Bill English 
: If the Prime Minister regarded the death of Liam Ashley as so tragic why did she not attend his funeral? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I do not think that is a question that deserves an answer. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Would the Minister please demonstrate to the House using knowledge of physics what is likely to happen to prisoners whose wrists are restrained to their waists should the van in which they are travelling even at 50 kilometres an hour hit a stationary object? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Very much what happens to any people whose hands are not strapped to their waists and who are not strapped into a seatbelt if they hit a stationary object. I point out to the member that we do not demand that school buses have seatbelts and restraints. I think the public would think it to be very strange if we insisted on such restraints for prisoners while not providing them for schoolchildren.