Opening of Rimutaka container cell block

Good morning. It's a pleasure to be here at this unique moment in the history of Corrections in New Zealand.

Today we are opening Unit 11, the first cell block in New Zealand which uses recycled shipping containers in its construction.

When this project was announced nine months ago, we were staring down the barrel of a very serious crisis in our prisons.

We were forecast to run out of baseline beds within months due to a lack of planning by a previous administration.

The traditional increase in prisoner numbers over winter would have left us with a capacity crisis the likes of which we have not seen before.

The forecasts have proven to be correct. At unlock on Monday the number of prisoners behind bars in our prisons and Police cells reached an all-time high of 8706.

That is an increase of 72 over the previous Monday which was itself an all-time high.

When the crisis was signalled last year, we took immediate steps to ensure there were enough beds to cope with the prisoners being sent from the courts.

I am delighted to say that with increased use of double bunking, and the opening of this container cell block today which have together added almost 800 new prison beds, the capacity crisis has been averted.

This new facility will house 60 prisoners in a mix of double and single bunked cells.

It was built from scratch in around half the time and cost roughly 30 percent less than cells using more traditional construction methods.

As you can see, it is surrounded by a four metre high fence topped with razor wire, and each of the units has a high pitched roof to thwart escape attempts.

Entry to the unit is via the secure staffed control room where staff have full visibility of the entire facility.

These units are comparable in size to other cells in prisons around the country.

Several members of the media have already enjoyed a night in these cells and I'm sure they found them humane, but spartan - which is the way prison cells should be.

Once operational on June 10, Corrections will be able to begin testing the suitability of building similar units at other sites across the county.

Because of the tight timeline for this project, it was not possible to use prisoners in the construction process.

However, the project provided jobs for around 120 New Zealanders, 40 percent of whom were from the local Wellington community.

This project would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of a large number of people, and I would like to acknowledge some of those involved.

Firstly, a big thank you to Mackersey Construction, and their sub contractors Kiwi Contractors.

Thanks also to the many Departmental staff who have been involved in the project, in particular the project commissioning team.

Last but not least I would like to thank all the staff at Rimutaka Prison who have been very supportive throughout the project process.

We have managed what the previous government failed to do in getting on top of prisoner numbers.

The challenge now will be to ensure there are enough beds for the future.

An additional 2270 prison beds will be needed at New Zealand prisons by 2019 - this is due to forecast growth of more than 1200 prisoners and the decommissioning of some existing prison beds.

In last month's Budget we announced funding of $69.3 million over the next four years to ensure there are enough beds to cope with a rising prison population and to replace obsolete prison beds.

Budget funding of $24 million will progress planning for a new prison at Wiri in South Auckland, which the Government intends to be designed, built and operated under a public-private partnership.

Funding of $45.3 million over the next four years will be used to operate an additional 245 beds and associated infrastructure at Mt Eden Prison.

To be perfectly frank, I would rather we didn't have to build additional prisoner beds.

The record number of prisoners we have behind bars is something of which none of us should be proud.

We cannot keep locking up ever increasing numbers of people. The social and economic cost is simply too great.

Some prisoners are simply bad, and we must ensure they are held securely so they do not present a risk to the public.

But for those who want to turn their lives around, we have an obligation to help them.

The one thing that many of our prisoners have in common is that they have been in prison before.

If we can lower the rates of re-offending then there is potential to make a significant impact on the number of offenders in our prisons.

Many prisoners reoffend because they have ongoing drug and alcohol problems, or lack basic work, literacy and numeracy skills that enable them to function in society.

Under this Government Corrections is doubling the number of prisoners receiving drug and alcohol treatment from 500 to 1,000 per year, increasing the number of prisoners gaining skills and work experience by at least 1,000 by 2012 and increasing the literacy and numeracy of prisoners.

We must do what we can to help prisoners break the cycle of reoffending and lead productive, law abiding lives.

We owe it to ourselves, and to future generations of New Zealanders.

Today, however, is about opening this impressive new facility.

It represents new thinking at Corrections, and a willingness to look at innovative solutions to difficult problems.

I would like to congratulate Barry and his team on a job well done.

Thank you all for coming along today. I now declare this new unit open.

I now invite you to have a look around the site.

Thank you.