Questions are being asked whether an internal investigation by Corrections into the recent Waikeria Prison standoff will be independent enough.
The organisation has repeatedly denied allegations made by the 16 prisoners at the heart of the standoff that the prison is poorly managed, and inmates are living in substandard conditions.
When 1 NEWS took a tour of the facility in 2018, it was already looking outdated.
A surprise inspection by the Ombudsman last year revealed multiple problems at the facility, from double bunking, poor ventilation to inmates eating their meals in unsanitary conditions.
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis told 1 NEWS today he is aware of the issues there.
“One of the first prisons I visited after becoming Minister was Waikeria," he says.
“It was first designed 100 years ago and I acknowledged long ago that it had reached the end of its ability to be used without significant investment.
The Corrections Minister said it was his view the “reasons for their actions” was not due to the conditions at the prison.
“That’s why we are currently building a new world-leading high-security facility to replace it, along with a first-of-its-kind 100-bed mental health facility, which will be completed in 2022."
But despite acknowledging it was substandard, he says the current facility is still needed in the area.
“We hadn’t closed it already due to the necessity for remand accommodation in the Waikato region – Waikeria is the main remand site for courts throughout the region," Davis says.
“Moving prisoners to other sites also limits the ability for the whānau and friends of prisoners to maintain contact with them while their court matters are ongoing.”
The Ombudsman report found the formal complaints process wasn't well-advertised in the prison.
Corrections has launched an internal investigation into how complaints are dealt with and how the standoff escalated.
However, the Human Rights Commission wants an external investigation.
"Do we want Corrections to hold an inquiry into Corrections or do we want an independent officer of Parliament? Which do we want?" chief executive Paul Hunt says.
"In my view they shouldn't have been [housed there]. Prisoners in Aotearoa shouldn't be in facilities which the Ombudsman has found are sub-standard."
Officials are yet to press charges against the prisoners arrested yesterday.
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