An Auckland man facing a raft of drugs, weapons and money laundering charges appeared in court this morning for a bail application.

Winston Peters has defended embattled Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, saying he is partly qualified for the job because he is Samoan.

A crowd of about 100 protesters have gathered outside Auckand's Mt Eden Corrections Facility today against the privitisation of jails.

A single mum and a man have appeared in court for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into a Christchurch prison.

Lawyers engaged by the family of a prison inmate who died after contracting a superbug want to know how staff responded to his complaints of illness.

How naive can our political masters be. They let a private prison operator self-report on how well they're doing, then act surprised when it all turns to custard, writes Brian Rudman.

Fights in a prison are probably not unusual, and often worse that the "fight club" video from Mt Eden that has had a political chain-reaction.

The arrest of three inmates at Mt Eden prison for allegedly helping to run a methamphetamine ring has not worried the Corrections Minister.

When a High Court judge comes out and makes a formal declaration that Parliament has failed to protect human rights, then we really should sit up and pay attention, writes Andrew Geddis.

What is accepted in Mt Eden today will creep into other institutions as prisoners are transferred from one to the other, writes Jarrod Gilbert. As a remand facility, Mt Eden is a gateway to prisons around the country.

The money to be docked from Serco includes a large fine for failing to keep prison violence to levels set out in its contract with government.

New claims have emerged of unrest at another jail soon after scandal engulfed Mt Eden prison.

John Key says there will be serious consequences for Serco if they are found to not be meeting obligations.

A prisoner, who was so badly beaten he sustained serious brain injuries, is taking Serco to court in a private prosecution - the first of its kind in New Zealand.

This should not be happening. Being locked up is punishment enough, writes Kerre McIvor.

The prisoner who died after allegedly being dropped off a landing at Mount Eden may have died from causes unrelated to an assault.

The Prime Minister says there will be serious consequences for Serco if they are found to not be meeting obligations at Mt Eden Correctional Facility.

$100,000 a year to imprison a person is a lot of money. That's the striking figure at the centre of the current prison scandal and debate.

The High Court has ruled a blanket ban on all prisoners' voting in general elections is an unjustified limit on their right to vote.

Minister says Government team is stepping in to run Mt Eden prison, after private firm rocked by allegations of violence.

The parents of a prison inmate whose death is at the centre of a prison violence scandal are looking to lay a formal complaint with police.

The father of a former inmate at Mt Eden Prison denies claims his son was injured when he fell from a cell block landing.

Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga was under renewed pressure last night after a fresh case of violence was reported from the Serco-run Mt Eden Correctional Facility.

The White House has announced that it is finalising a plan to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.

The Corrections Minister's statements are all well and good but the seriousness of prison claims requires a harder line, writes Toby Manhire.

Faced with a growing backlog in the already overloaded justice system, a frustrated judge has criticised Serco's Mt Eden prison for not doing its job.

The inmate whose death is at the centre of a prison violence scandal is the grandson of a National Party stalwart who died just weeks later.

Serco has been fined $300,000 in the last year for breaching its contract with the Government, the Corrections Minister revealed this afternoon.

Under-fire Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga has hauled in prison operator Serco for an urgent meeting today.