$11m bill for landscaping new prisons

Landscaping at the country's four new prisons will cost more than $11 million, sparking an accusation that taxpayers are funding entries for the Ellerslie Flower Show rather than basic prison grounds.

The steep landscaping bill is the latest row to affect the jails - Ngawha in Northland, Auckland Women's, Spring Hill in the Waikato and Otago region prison - which have been plagued by budget blow-outs and construction problems.

National Party law and order spokesman Simon Power said the $11 million bill for "shrubs and pavers" was extravagant and showed incompetence on the part of the Department of Corrections.

"We are not meant to be creating outdoor works of art or serene walks around these prisons. These are meant to be places where inmates are reminded every day of why they are there. Taxpayers need to be assured that they are not funding an entry for the Ellerslie Flower Show."

The $11 million was spent on such things as planting of trees and shrubs, fencing, paving, shelter belts, paths, exercise areas, and planting for visual screening.

The Department of Corrections chief financial officer, John Ryan, said the landscaping was required to meet resource consent requirements, to ensure efficient operation of the facilities, and to meet community expectations.

"Prisons are designed and built to a basic functional level. Like the facilities themselves landscaping is to a basic level. These are large sites, covering 639ha in total."

Mr Power said he realised there were some requirements necessary for consent agreements to satisfy the local community, but said $11 million of landscaping went well beyond those requirements.

"It is almost inconceivable that this project could be so badly managed and the landscaping is highlighting the incompetence of the department."

In January, the Government said the cost of building the Spring Hill facility and the Otago prison had increased by $141 million in just six months.

Last month, it was revealed that the department had spent $684,128 since July 1 on private carriers in transferring 6854 inmates between prisons by plane or bus.


Trees and paving

* Waikato's Spring Hill prison: $4.34 million.
* Northland's Ngawha prison: $1.56 million.
* Auckland Women's prison: $1.98 million.
* Otago region prison: $3.3 million.