KEY POINTS:
The National Party is looking at scrapping the Corrections Department and having the Justice Ministry run New Zealand's prisons if it becomes the government.
National Leader John Key said his party had lost confidence in the department in the light of teenager Liam Ashley being killed in the back of a prison transport van, Graeme Burton's rampage while on parole, prison building cost blow-outs and the "101 other disasters of recent years".
Mr Key said Simon Power, as National's corrections and justice spokesman, would look at whether there would be more accountability if the functions were merged.
"The question we're asking is whether this portfolio will be better presented by a senior minister with oversight and accountability for Corrections and Justice," Mr Key said.
A poll has shown only one-third of New Zealanders have trust and confidence in this department.
"It is clear something drastic has to be done."
Mr Key told journalists at National's caucus retreat that Mr Power would be asked to report on the issue as soon as possible.
Asked if there was a danger that there would be no change as the same people would be involved, Mr Key said having the same people reporting to one senior minister could drive a change in culture.
Ministers and officials had engaged in finger-pointing and buck-passing which meant no-one was held to account and problems were not fixed, Mr Key said.
National would also be releasing a "major discussion document" on the wider criminal justice system such as parole and treatment of repeat violent offenders.
Mr Key said if the Corrections Department had recalled Burton on the advice of police, Wainuiomata father-of-two Karl Kuchenbecker would still be alive.
He acknowledged being tough on crime came with a high cost linked to a soaring prison population.
National would look to creative solutions, with a likely focus on prevention and rehabilitation, he said.
Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor said the proposal to scrap the Corrections Department was a "flip-flop" given that it was National which had separated it from the Justice Ministry in 1995.
"The announcement has all the hallmarks of policy being created on the hoof, with the National Party unlikely to have done any proper analysis."
He was confident the department's chief executive Barry Matthews could steer it through a "difficult time" and make any necessary changes.
- NZPA
