Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill 2009

The Maori Party says from the very start that we have got to do things better in dealing with returning those in prison back to the community to stay and to live positive and productive lives. We have to look at new models, new ways of doing things and this Bill is a part of that effort.

Should Maori have the opportunity to bid to run prisons which could be tikanga based?

Hell yeah.

Mr Speaker, if you did not know, this is an idea which has been around for some time, it has been long time coming.

Just over a decade ago, in March 1999, Northland iwi Ngati Hine talked with the Corrections Corporation of Australia, regarding a proposed site at Ngawha near Kaikohe.

The proposal was a joint venture to participate in the administration of the prison – the Australian Corporation would run the prison for five years, and then Ngati Hine would take over the management.

Well Labour pulled the rug out under the feet of Ngati Hine - pushing them to the margins while the State came in and set up Ngawha Prison right under their eyes.

A year later, New Zealand’s first privately run prison, Auckland Central Remand Prison, was opened. ACRP was managed by Australasian Correctional management and lasted a glorious five years.

Now glorious I know might be an unusual word to describe anything to do with prisons – but it was indeed something to celebrate, that the way in which our prisons manage, treat and rehabilitate Maori was for once being undertaken in a way which was at long last effective for Maori.

Mr Speaker, I want to make it quite clear – our support for ACRP –or indeed for the concept of private management of prisons – is motivated purely and simply by the concept of Maori solutions for Maori problems, driven by Maori philosophies.

We are interested in three key questions:
 

• Will private management of prisons be effective in addressing and reducing Maori offending?

• How will Maori management be different from state management – will iwi be profit driven?

• Is something else altogether required – a whare oranga – a rehabilitation centre which might be consistent with a policy of restorative justice.

These are the questions that we look to have responses to, during the select committee stage of this Bill.

But before we get there, I want to return to this concept, Maori solutions for Maori problems, driven by Maori philosophies, which Te Iwi Whanui o Tamaki Makaurau promoted as the cornerstone idealogy of their relationship with ACRP.

I think it is important to just spend some time refreshing our memories about the achievements that Maori experienced at ACRP as it is absolutely central to our support for this Bill.

Mr Speaker, Te Iwi Whanui o Tamaki Makaurau – as referred to by Sandra Goudie - was a board representing the six local iwi who were recognised in a formal relationship with the management of Auckland Central Remand Prison.

The six iwi, Ngati Whatua o Orakei, Te Kawerau a Maki; Ngai Tai ki Tamaki Tribal Trust; Ngati Paoa; Ngati Te Ata and Te Waiohua were the mana whenua tribes that signed a formal memorandum of partnership with the Department of Corrections with regard to the establishment and support of ACRP.

The detail of that Memorandum is quite innovative really.

There is a focus on consultation with the iwi.

There is provision to measure the impact of cultural and spiritual values on the design and construction of the buildings.

There are procedures relating to the discovery of any wahi tapu koiwi or taonga on the site.

And there are four guiding principles which form the very basis of the partnership; and they are:
 

• Establishing relationships with Maori stakeholders;
• Recognising and providing for Maori interests;
• Being responsive to Maori concerns;
• Ensuring equality of opportunities for Maori.

Mr Speaker, why on earth would the Maori Party speak against that?

I wanted to take us back in time to the basis of the relationship enjoyed between iwi whanui and ACRP because I think it stands as an example of standards that were set that could and should motivate all of our prisons to lift their game.

Mr Speaker, I do not need to drill too far before we see the ongoing and compounding dysfunction in the current prison system.

And all of us in this House know only too well that Maori make up just over half of New Zealand's 8229 prisoners in the country.

So the question is, why wouldn’t we look for new ideas, for new solutions, to encourage innovation and excellence in the management of prisons?

Mr Speaker the standard that was set at ACRP was about improving performance in service provision; cultural safety; community consultation; and attitude right across all levels of the management.

It wasn’t, as some have warned, about thinking of prisons as a profit-making industry. There wasn’t a heap of breaches and problems emerging from poor compliance in upholding standards and safety.

In fact, in practice ACRP raised the benchmark in many areas.

After 150 years of prisons in New Zealand, ACRP was the first prison to employ a Maori General manager – and I take a moment to acknowledge the contribution that Dom Karauria made.

It was an institution where the Treaty of Waitangi wasn’t reserved for the library shelves – the principles of partnership, protection and participation underpinned all operations and all procedures of management and delivery.

Mr Speaker, I remind the House, that the State has legal obligations to strive to respect the rights of incarcerated persons, including the protection of their safety and wellbeing.

What we saw with ACRP was that it actually was possible to have a penal institution where the emphasis was on rehabilitation and working with the inmates to address crime.

Mr Speaker, our colleague, Dr Pita Sharples, in his role as Associate Minister of Corrections has also suggested that a private Maori prison could build on the work being done in the five Maori units at facilities across the country.

We would never say, this is the ultimate answer, the only solution.

Our preference, of course, would be that the chronic issues confronting the state system could be addressed; that the risks and safety issues that plague our prisons could be managed; that the wellbeing and safety of inmates could be upheld.

But achievements of this nature, are far from a reality at the moment.

And so, we look to the possibilities of contract management to know that we can actually believe it is possible to create a culturally safe and appropriate prison.

Mr Speaker, Dr Greg Newbold, an Associate Professor in Criminology at Canterbury University, has publically confirmed the high standards that were upheld at ACRP.

In his view the success factors that are associated with private management is that private companies will not tolerate the types of policy failures and management mistakes that we see regularly in our public prisons. Private companies are focused on accountability and credibility – and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps another surprising source of support was that of Corrections Association national president Beven Hanlon who has acknowledged the current penal system does not work well and also says there needs to be more accountability.

Mr Speaker, the Maori Party is aware that Te Puni Kokiri had been consulted with in this process of this Bill. Their recommendation was that there should be explicit and measurable performance objectives and standards relating to the rehabilitation and reduction of recidivisim of Maori inmates.

They saw this as a key element by which accountability could be achieved – so much so that it should be legislated for and regularly reported on.

Mr Speaker, we will support this Bill through to select committee.

Our bottom line of course is that we opposed to the building of more prisons, whether state or privately managed. Our entire aim in fact is to reduce the use of prison as a priority response to offending.

But if there are to be prisons; and there are Maori inmates; then why not also consider opportunities for Maori to manage and guide and lead us, as partners in the management of prisons?

It is an idea, that surely, is worth considering.