KEY POINTS:
Barry Matthews seems certain to lose his job as chief executive of the Corrections Department after Prime Minister John Key today said the public was entitled to expect accountability for the way it failed to follow parole procedures.
Auditor-General Kevin Brady yesterday released a report after examining 100 case files of prisoners on parole, including 52 high risk offenders.
He said that in most of them the department had not followed its own procedures.
Corrections Minister Judith Collins refused to express confidence in Mr Matthews, and has asked State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie to tell her who is accountable for the "serious failings" revealed in the report.
She said Mr Matthews would "assist" Mr Rennie, and it was understood they were meeting tonight.
Mr Key's comments added to the pressure on Mr Matthews.
"The New Zealand public is entitled to expect accountability and quite frankly that report made such damning reading they can have no confidence at this point that the department is following the improved procedures they promised," Mr Key said.
Labour Party leader Phil Goff said that when a minister indicated they lacked confidence in a top official, the result was "almost automatic".
Chief executives of government departments are employed by the State Services Commission and can't be sacked directly by ministers.
Mr Rennie appeared before Parliament's government administration select committee today for a routine review but told MPs he was not going to talk about Mr Matthews.
But under questioning he did say there was a point when a hypothetical chief executive could not be given further chances to fix problems that kept repeating.
"There is a limit," he said.
He later told reporters he was not going to prejudge the issue because he had documents to work through and people to talk to.
After Mr Brady's report was released yesterday Ms Collins called a press conference to deliver scathing criticism of the way the department failed to follow the new procedures put in place after parolee Graeme Burton murdered Karl Kuchenbecker in January 2007.
"I'm not going to blame the system, I want to know who is accountable," she said.
Ms Collins said she had told Mr Matthews not to comment on Mr Brady's report.
"I'm doing the talking," she said.
"This isn't a temporary breakdown. I'd call it a damning failure."
- NZPA
