Asenati Lole-Taylor
Spokesperson role for Corrections
13 March 2012

National’s Private Prison Industry Profiteers

New Zealand First says the government is creating a private prison industry for the benefit of overseas profiteers rather than trying to create a system that will keep offenders out of jail in the future.

“Any suggestion by the Minister that this new private prison in Wiri will focus on rehabilitation and reintegration is a complete fallacy,” says New Zealand First Corrections spokesperson, Asenati Lole-Taylor.

“The SecureFuture consortium (Macquarie Finances, Fletcher Construction, Serco and Spotless) is the preferred bidder for the 25 year contract to design, build and manage the new 960 bed prison in South Auckland.

“There needs to be new, innovative ways of providing custodial service and facility management for the new prison,” says Ms Lole-Taylor.

“If we are serious about reducing reoffending, public safety, operational performance, successful rehabilitation and reintegration, then we need to seriously look at more inclusive and ground breaking ways of involving the very communities to which these men and women will inevitably return to.

“History shows that National governments have failed to engage with credible community leaders, social services and providers.

“New Zealand First believes that the true measure and success of any new prison in South Auckland should not be about fiscal and operational efficacy, but rather its ability to effectively reduce reoffending.

“The real driving factor behind all of this is financial outputs instead of meaningful social outcomes that aren’t pumped up by artificial statistics,” said Mrs Lole-Taylor.

ENDS

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