Karauria resignation unfortunate: Nandor

Green Justice spokesperson Nandor Tanczos said today that the resignation of Dom Karauria as General Manager of the Auckland Central Remand Prison was a loss for the institution.

"Mr Karauria is an exceptional individual who has brought a genuine focus on rehabilitation to his work," said Nandor.

However the Auckland-based MP brushed off claims by Tasi Lauese, chair of the Pacific Peoples Advisory Group, that his praise of Mr Karauria had led to the manager's resignation.

"Mr Karauria strikes me as a humble man, but I don't think being praised would cause him to flee the country," said Nandor. "If that was the case, all of the staff and Te Iwi Whanui o Tamaki Makaurau, whom I also praised, would be packing their bags too."

Nandor said that while he disagreed with Mr Karauria on the subject of private prisons, they had a lot in common on the broader subject of penal reform.

"Maybe Mr Swain should be offering him a job as Head of the Corrections Department."

The Greens do not have a permanent member on the Law and Order Committee, but Nandor was able to duck out of the Justice and Electoral Committee, which meets at the same time, to attend a number of hearings on the Corrections Bill. During those sessions it became clear that some of the claims made by Mr Karauria's supporters were exaggerated.

"In particular the assertion that the private sector is more cost effective does not seem to stack up. In any case, I'm sure that Mr Karauria would agree that dollars should not be the measure of success."

Nandor also brushed off criticism that he had refused an Australian Corrections Management-sponsored trip to Australia to look at their prisons there.

"I have visited the Auckland remand prison three times and hosted Mr Karauria and Iwi Whanui representatives in my office once. But jaunts to Oz paid for by a private prison company would be a far more serious conflict of interest than accepting a scampi meal.

"I have always been clear with them that Green Party policy is opposed to private prisons, just as we don't want Securitas running the police or mercenaries running the army."

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