By VERNON SMALL deputy political editor
Corrections Minister Matt Robson has reopened the search for two prison sites in South Auckland, and is calling on the communities where they could be built to put aside selfish concerns in the national interest.
"I'd ask them to perhaps own the problem that we have as a country," he said yesterday.
An increasing number of offenders, especially young ones, were ending up in jail.
"Where we have to have containment, we have to look beyond, say, local interest and try to look at it as a New Zealand citizen."
Mr Robson said it would be helpful if communities and local MPs set aside selfish interests and concentrated on genuine technical and social objections to proposed sites.
"Because if a prison that is being proposed isn't built in their backyard, it has to go into someone else's backyard.
"If we only look at it from the point of view of self-interest, then we have an enormous problem."
The two prisons, a 650-bed men's prison on a 90ha site and a 150-bed women's prison on 20ha, are proposed for the area between Manukau and north of Huntly.
The department already owns a 10ha site in Wiri Station Rd and that is being considered as a possible site for the women's prison.
The Papakura and Franklin district councils have already opposed the building of a prison in their areas.
Last year, the Department of Corrections stopped the search for sites, saying the need for more prison space was not urgent.
At the time it was looking for a 30ha site for the men's prison.
Mr Robson said yesterday that a final selection of two or three sites would be made by next February, and the prisons should be open by 2003.
Communities, Maori and other parties would be widely consulted.
Mt Eden women's prison would close and it was "a case of not if, but when" Mt Eden would close.
The prison stood on prime real estate, but when it closed its heritage status would have to be taken into account.
A new regional prison would have facilities best suited to preventing inmates from returning to jail.
"You can't guarantee everybody, but it's a better step forward if you have places for people to do their employment programmes, prison industries and have a Maori-focus unit that is design-built."
Auckland inmates made up 30 per cent of the prison population, but only 20 were in Auckland prisons. Some were sent as far away as the South Island.
Eleven per cent of New Zealand's inmates came from South Auckland, but there were no prisons there.
Research had shown people were less likely to reoffend if they were held close to their families and communities, and could keep up contacts.
The jail in Dunedin, which dated from the 19th century, would also be replaced by another prison in Otago, Mr Robson said.
He said projections showed prisoner numbers would increase from 5800 now to more than 8000 over the next decade, even though the Government was putting in place policies to reduce the number of people going to jail.
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