Hon Judith Collins

Minister of Corrections

1 December 2016

Minister welcomes new graduates

Corrections Minister Judith Collins has welcomed 27 new Corrections Officers and Offender who graduated today.

The new staff will be based at Northland Region Corrections Facility, Mt Eden Corrections Facility, Spring Hill Corrections Facility, Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison, Manawatu Prison, Arohata Prison, Rimutaka Prison, Christchurch Men’s Prison, and Otago Corrections Facility.

A former army officer’s exceptional leadership and people skills saw her awarded the Minister’s Excellence Award.

Hannah Wiki from Northland Region Corrections Facility enjoyed a 15-year career in the New Zealand Defence Force, which included deployment to East Timor in 2000 as a combat tracker in the Reconnaissance Platoon. Hannah rose to the rank of Sergeant before leaving the army to return to Northland.

She worked at the Whangarei and Kaipara District Council for the past five years before making the decision to become a Corrections Officer.

Her leadership, professionalism and people skills made her an exemplary role model for her fellow recruits, with her supervisors noting her ability to build rapport with prisoners and staff alike would see her becoming an exceptional Corrections Officer.

“Over the past year we have seen many former service personnel bring their exceptional life skills to Corrections, and it is heartening that so many wish to use their prior experience to make a difference to other people’s lives, “ says Ms Collins.
Corrections is currently recruiting 600 new frontline Corrections Officers. Former NZ Defence Force and service personnel are highly regarded as Corrections Officers as they have many of the key values and life skills Corrections is seeking.

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