KEY POINTS:
The Dutch woman who started the ball rolling against corruption in Rimutaka Prison says suspensions of officers this week are tackling just the tip of the iceberg.
Ingrid Rijniers, 43, feels vindicated after the suspension of two Corrections officers on suspicion of smuggling contraband to inmates.
The action is the result of investigations that Mrs Rijniers kick-started when she raised concerns to Rimutaka management in November.
"It's only the tip of the iceberg, but it's a start. There's plenty more where that came from. That's not only my words but the others that have since gone to the press."
The Herald did not report Mrs Rijniers' allegations until December because she was afraid of the gangs in the prison and wanted to be out of the country by the time the story was published.
She told of a corrupt environment where contraband smuggling was rife and prison officers were in the pockets of gangs.
But she was just as distressed at the lack of support from her colleagues in the high-medium security unit she worked in for about a month. She quit in July.
Rimutaka officers have called her claims exaggerated, misperceptions after only a short stint on the floor, or even outright lies, but Mrs Rijniers rejects these charges.
"I always told the truth. I knew it was the truth. I said when I was in New Zealand that time would show the truth, and now it's beginning [to show].
"I'm glad I did it. And it's important for me to know that the people of New Zealand knew what's going on in Corrections."
Her husband, Mark, had a better Rimutaka experience in a unit without corruption or contraband problems.
The Rijniers now live in a small town near the German border with their 7-year-old daughter.
Mrs Rijniers is still bitter about not being given any financial help returning home - a move described at the time as extortion by Corrections chief executive Barry Matthews.
"They didn't support us to get back home. It cost us a lot of money and we had to start all over again. That was a great disappointment."
Mrs Rijniers is now looking forward to moving into a new home and making a fresh start.
The two officers outed by the inquiry are among eight suspended from Rimutaka: four for allowing a convicted rapist conjugal visits while he had medical care at Wellington Hospital, one for corruption predating the inquiry and one for breaching the code of conduct.
Three more face suspension next week.
Mrs Rijniers said New Zealand was a beautiful country, but it wasn't the prison system that made it so.
She had sardonic words for Mr Matthews: "Thanks for all the misery."
Last straw for NZ First
Pressure is building for an independent inquiry into the Corrections Department, with New Zealand First saying it is time for a meaningful investigation.
The department has been under intense scrutiny in recent months, with a litany of troubles including corruption inquiries at Rimutaka and Christchurch prisons, the death in a prison van of North Shore teenager Liam Ashley, and convicted murderer Graeme Burton killing again after breaching his parole.
The case of sex offender John Clarke, who absconded while on home detention, appears to have been the last straw for NZ First MP Ron Mark, deputy chairman of Parliament's law and order select committee.
The MP had long resisted making public comment on calls by National for for such an inquiry. But yesterday Mr Mark called Corrections "a mess" and said it was time for a meaningful inquiry.
"There is a culture of incompetence and corruption that clearly exists, and that's got to be cleared out," he said.
"For the purposes of credibility, it would be fair to say that it has to come from outside the ministry and from outside of government ... It seems to me that there are some fundamental questions that need to be re-asked."
The Government has so far resisted calls from National for any such inquiry, but it will be harder to ignore a support party such as NZ First.
Yesterday public prisons general manager Harry Hawthorn said more officers were likely to be suspended before the corruption investigation at Rimutaka Prison was finished.
He said most prison officers did an excellent job and were angry about being tarred with the same brush as colleagues accused of corruption.
- Mike Houlahan
