Minister blames Ombudsmen for failure

The culture of denial in Corrections has reached such a point that the Minister is even trying to blame the Ombudsmen for failings over prisoner transport, says National’s Justice & Corrections spokesman, Simon Power.

“Corrections told the Ombudsmen in 2004 and 2005 that it had developed national standards for prisoner transport and upgraded its vans in response to concerns by the Ombudsmen in 2004 – but it hadn’t.

“That led the Ombudsmen to make incorrect statements in their own annual reports for those years.

“And it prompted them to say in their report into prisoner transport yesterday that ‘… we have been most disturbed that our expectations were not met, and have still not been met.’

“When asked in the House today if his department had deceived the Ombudsmen over this issue, Damien O’Connor said he had been told ‘there was no intention to deceive the Ombudsmen’, and that ‘I am not sure why … the Ombudsmen may have misinterpreted that information’.

“I find that astounding though not surprising, coming as it does from a Minister who seems to be in a constant state of denial over the goings-on in his department.

“The blame lies within his own department.

“New Zealanders will always believe the Ombudsmen over the Department of Corrections – it seems a pity the Minister doesn’t.”

ENDS

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