The number of inmates held in high-security at Hawke's Bay Regional Prison could increase if an expansion plan goes ahead. Photo / Warren Buckland
The number of inmates held in high-security at Hawke's Bay Regional Prison could increase if an expansion plan goes ahead. Photo / Warren Buckland
The Department of Corrections is considering expanding Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison to accommodate up to 464 more high-security inmates.
If it goes ahead, it would turn it into one of the largest prison facilities in the country by 2045, Labour says.
National’s Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd and Corrections say it’sa “potential project”, and nothing has been confirmed.
In the Department of Corrections’ long-term network configuration plan 2025-2045, Corrections chief executive Jeremy Lightfoot said the prison population was projected to grow in the long term, and the country needed to plan for it now.
It said the population would increase rapidly until June 2028 and then rise gradually until June 2035.
In a section of the long-term network configuration plan entitled The Future Prison Network – what could the prison network look like in the next 20 Years, the plan calls for new high-security capacity at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison.
Between 240 and 720 new high-security beds would be built at the facility, to replace 256 existing beds deemed to be poor quality, the plan shows.
The report also mentions the refurbishment of six hut units – typically low-security buildings for prisoners nearing release – which would improve quality and decrease bed numbers in these units from 380 to 252.
A spokesperson from Corrections said on August 4, 2025, Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison had 755 operational beds, 68 of which were vacant.
Hawke's Bay Regional Prison. Photo / Paul Taylor
Labour Corrections spokeswoman Dr Tracey McLellan said the party had warned before the 2023 election that the coalition Government was laying the groundwork for a “mega-prison” in Hawke’s Bay.
“The plan for up to 720 new high-security beds turns Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison into one of the largest custodial sites in the country,” McLellan said.
“People in Hawke’s Bay didn’t ask for a mega-prison. They asked for better housing, safer communities and support for youth – not more cells.”
“What we know happens is, if we build a mega-prison, there will be more serious criminals brought into Hawke’s Bay to serve their time and with them come their associates,” Lorck said at the time.
Wedd said at the time that Lorck was peddling “desperate misinformation” with her “mega-prison” claim.
When contacted by Hawke’s Bay Today, Lorck, no longer in politics, said she hoped the region fights back against any plan to build a larger prison.
“It’s the last thing our region needs,” she said.
Wedd said Corrections had a range of projects under way to increase the number and quality of beds across the prison network, but no projects at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison had been confirmed.
A Corrections spokesperson said public safety was their top priority, and ensuring they had sufficient fit-for-purpose prison capacity was critical to keeping the public safe.
“The Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison redevelopment is a potential project being planned to meet the forecast rising demand for high-security beds at the prison,” the spokesperson said.
“This project would deliver additional high-security accommodation and necessary upgrades and replacements to essential site infrastructure such as the gatehouse and visitor facilities.
“The detailed scope of the project is being developed and the project remains subject to approvals and funding decisions.”
The spokesperson said they could not provide timings of when decisions would be made.
Inmate numbers at NZ’s largest prisons*:
Mt Eden Corrections Facility – 1318
Rimutaka Prison – 1024
Auckland South Corrections Facility – 960
Spring Hill Corrections Facility – 904
Christchurch Men’s Prison – 896
Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison – 703
Auckland Prison – 679
Northland Regional Corrections Facility – 601
Whanganui Prison – 519
* as of March 31, 2025
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.
