Jackson WillieHon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister of Employment): It's a disgrace what we're hearing today from the National Party. I want to congratulate the Minister of Corrections for his great work. He's without doubt been the most successful corrections Minister that Governments have seen in the last two decades. There's no doubt about it and Māoridom is proud of Minister Davis. No absolutely—no doubt. Mark Mitchell and other MPs over there should hang their heads in shame because Minister Davis has clearly focused on what's been happening in the prisons—something National was never interested in never interested in. We know on this side of the House the National Party policy: lock them up and throw the keys away—lock them up and throw the keys away. Dr Duncan Webb: Abandon hope.Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Abandon hope.We are into everything that Marama Davidson and Minister Davis have talked about. Rehabilitation is something that we're driven by. Restorative justice is something that we back. And in terms of what Minister Davis was talking about in terms of the Hōkai Rangi strategy—a brilliant strategy in terms of turning our people's lives around.I'm particularly supportive of what Minister Davis was talking about in terms of mental health. Mental health is something that is very dear to this Government. When you have the terrible statistic of prisoners wanting to commit suicide four times more than people on the outside you have to do something drastic—you have to do something drastic. Minister Davis has come up with the right solutions.We know about this kaupapa in the community. I know about this kaupapa. My mother was the longest serving Parole Board member in this country—20 years. She was unfortunately appointed by a National Government but that's by the by—that's by the by. No seriously thanks to the National Government for appointing her. But over those 20 years my mother told me this: she said that over 95 percent of prisoners could be rehabilitated—over 95 percent of prisoners could be rehabilitated. That's what she knew. That's what Minister Davis knows. They need opportunity and they need support and this is what our Minister is trying to do here. My mother used to bring—sadly we felt at the time—murderers paedophiles and rapists to our marae to turn their lives around. These were people who had done their time and our whānau and our people worked with these groups of people. We worked with them because we wanted a better country. We didn't want to just give up on them like the National Party did. This is part of this Hōkai Rangi strategy. We can see what the Minister is saying.So we're not just investing in prisons; we're investing in this country—we're investing in this country. And we have results with a reduced prison population of 8 percent since it peaked at 10820 in March 2018. This Minister is progressing as well as that investment in terms of $98 million being put aside Whānau Ora being introduced and the Ministry of Social Development working in partnership—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): I wonder if the Minister can actually link all of those things to this bill because so far you haven't.Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Absolutely. That's all part of this amendment bill. This Corrections Amendment Bill is important because it improves prison security ensures a much safer environment in terms of the treatment of people in prison and upholds public safety.But the goal in terms of what Minister Davis wants to do—in terms of reducing our prison population by 30 percent—is a goal that we should all fix on over the next 15 years. We should aspire to those types of numbers so that we can have a society that we're all proud of.So I'm proud of this amendment bill because it's a bill that addresses some of the problems that a lot of people don't want to address. The Minister is nailing it as far as we're concerned. Māoridom are crying out for solutions; we're on track with this bill. When half the prison population are Māori it demands a response and a courageous response. Minister Davis has come up with that in terms of what he wants to do in terms of the Hōkai Rangi strategy which has the primary aim to treat prisoners with respect. That doesn't take away the fact that we have much aroha for the victims but we have to start somewhere different and I mihi to the Minister for his innovative and original way of dealing with things. Kia ora tātou.