Govt revives Waikato mega-prison plans as $1.9b spend pays for ...

The Government wants to build 800 more beds at Waikato's Waikeria prison as part of its four-year spend on Corrections. Photo / Alan Gibson

The Government is reviving a plan to build a mega-prison in Waikato as part of its $1.9 billion spend in the upcoming Budget goes towards an 810-bed extension of Waikeria prison.

The package would also fund 685 new Corrections staff, including 470 new Corrections officers which wouldn’t be limited by attrition. Almost $80 million would go towards a National Party campaign commitment to provide rehabilitation services to the increasing number of prisoners on remand.

About $1.5b of the four-year package was new money, with an extra $442m from cuts made to Corrections amid the Government’s effort to limit “back-office” spending in the public service.

However, Labour leader Chris Hipkins says Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Corrections Minster Mark Mitchell’s attempt at explaining the announcement would leave more questions than answers after an at-times confusing post-Cabinet press conference where the pair struggled to clarify how much of its extension to Waikeria prison had already been announced by the previous Government.

During the press conference yesterday, Mitchell indicated the 810-bed extension included the roughly 600 beds set to be added to Waikeria as announced under the Labour-led Government in 2018. Those beds were supposed to have been built by 2022 but the timeline was extended in 2023 with a new completion date in 2025.

A statement from Mitchell’s office after the press conference confirmed the 810 beds would be in addition to the already announced 600.

Factoring in Waikeria’s current capacity of 455, the prison would have a new capacity of 1865 by 2026 under this Government’s plan.

Waikeria Prison had been a political football in the past - in 2018, Labour scaled back National’s plans for a 2000- to 3000-bed prison, slating it as an “American-style mega-prison.” Instead, it announced an extra 500-bed prison with a further 100 beds for prisoners requiring mental health treatment.

The National Party in its current form had long condemned Labour for overseeing a reduction in the prison population to about 8500, which National in Opposition claimed had led to increased levels of crime.

Mitchell yesterday said about 9600 prisoners were currently in New Zealand prisons and he expected the system to accommodate about 10,000.

He wouldn’t rule out implementing double-bunking if capacity became stretched.

On the Corrections workforce boost, Mitchell’s office confirmed attrition of staff would not eat into the 470 new officers promised over the next four years.

In the conference, Mitchell lauded Corrections’ recent recruitment drive that had led to 130 new graduates each month. His office later said at least 100 new Corrections officers had been appointed each month this year.

Luxon too became confused at one stage, appearing to confirm the $1.9b didn’t include any capital expenditure, meaning it wouldn’t be used to pay for building the extension.

Mitchell and his office later clarified the package included the expansion as well as “some other capital works for the delivery of programme rooms”.

Hipkins pounced on the errors, admitting he was unsure of what the Government had announced.

“It’s difficult to criticise that announcement when it’s not clear exactly what the announcement is.

‘Overall, I think that horrific performance in the conference will probably lead to a lot more questions than answers.”

Hipkins did credit the Government for its spending on rehab services for remand prisoners, saying it was a “good thing” and it had been something the previous Government under his leadership had been looking into.

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.