Convicts get no 'air points'

Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor said "pressure" on the prison system meant inmates had to be transferred elsewhere from time to time and the practice would continue as necessary.

He also glibly assured MPs that the inmates did not get air points.

The Corrections Department is spending about $100,000 a month on inmate travel costs, more than that spent in any of the previous five years.

It had spent $684,128 since July 1 on private carriers to transfer 6854 inmates between prisons by plane or bus, according to figures obtained under the Official Information Act.

The cost per transfer is almost triple the previous financial year.

National's prisons spokesman, Simon Power, said that at this rate the department would be facing a $1.2 million "blowout" by the end of the financial year.

- NZPA