Redeveloped Mt Eden Prison may be privately managed

Corrections Minister Judith Collins has tagged the replacement Mt Eden Prison as the first jail to potentially be put into private management.

The Mt Eden redevelopment is due to take inmates in 2011 - and yesterday Ms Collins said she was looking at putting it under such management then.

She previously said the Government's preference was for new prisons to be considered for private management. Mt Eden is a replacement prison, rather than completely new.

Ms Collins also confirmed that a new prison expected to be built at Wiri was likely to be "a starter for a public-private partnership".

"These all need to be looked at and a business case put forward."

The Auckland Central Remand Prison was privately managed from 1999 to 2004 and was cited by Ms Collins as an example of a successfully run prison. Yesterday she said she had no plans to re-privatise that prison.

Private management of new prisons was for logistical reasons.

"It's much easier if we can enter into a contract when the prison is empty rather than when we have to do a changeover. It allows continuity for staff, and that's always a big issue.

"We're certainly not saying no to the possibility of a privately run existing prison, should that be desirable and necessary."

Labour corrections spokesman Clayton Cosgrove said private management raised concerns about accountability. While state departments were subject to scrutiny from the Auditor-General, Parliament and the media, it was unlikely private companies could be forced to undergo the same scrutiny.

In March Ms Collins introduced the Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Bill allowing tendering out of the management of both existing and new prisons. It is currently before the law and order select committee.