Collins to visit private prisons in Australia

Corrections Minister Judith Collins will visit Australia this week to find out more about how private prisons work there.

Ms Collins said she wanted to contract management of prisons could work in New Zealand.

She will visit three privately managed prisons, one in Victoria and two in Queensland, holding a range of prisoners from remand through to medium security.

A Government bill to allow private management to run prisons had been introduced to Parliament.

Between 1999 and 2004 Auckland Central Remand Prison was run under private management until the then Labour government decided all prisons should be state run.

- NZPA