[comment caption=Do you support the privatisation of NZ prisons?]The Cabinet is expected to give the big tick today to legislation that could see most, if not all of the country's prisons run eventually by private companies.
Ministers' approval of the legislation will increase the pressure on the problem-plagued Corrections Department to lift its game - presuming the Government allows the department to tender for management contracts in the first place.
The Cabinet's decision comes on the same day as State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie is due to present his report assessing whether Corrections' chief executive Barry Matthews is accountable for departmental failings in its management of parole.
Given concern within the Government that the commissioner may attribute responsibility for the serious lapses in monitoring offenders on parole to senior departmental officials reporting to Mr Matthews, and absolve him of blame, the timing of the Cabinet's consideration of a Bill which is understood to extend tendering for management contracts to existing prisons might not be coincidental.
National's law and order policy allows for competitive tendering for contracts to run prisons on a "case-by-case basis", but is not more specific.
The indications had been that the policy - based on National's view that the private sector can do the job better and more cheaply - would apply chiefly to new jails.
The details of the Bill have yet to be made public.
It will be tabled in Parliament this week.
It is conceivable that the Government might exclude management of medium and maximum security prisons like Auckland's Paremoremo from going out to tender, at least in the short term.
However, it is clear the Government intends to proceed with privatising prison management where possible as fast as possible.
Corrections Minister Judith Collins is understood to be meeting Australian-based representatives from the Geo Group, a United States-based company which also runs "correctional facilities" in Canada, Britain and South Africa, where it manages and maintains a maximum security jail.
The Geo Group managed the Auckland Central Remand Prison for five years after the last National-led government allowed private operators to tender for contracts to run new prisons.
The company's contract was not renewed because Labour, opposed to the private sector operating prisons, passed legislation in 2004 making prison management solely the job of the Crown.
The State Services Commissioner's report, which was sought by Ms Collins following a damning inquiry by the Auditor-general, Kevin Brady, into how well Corrections was managing parole arrangements, is expected to be delivered to the minister's office this morning.
Ms Collins sent strong signals to the commissioner that she wanted Mr Matthews out, by refusing to express confidence in her chief executive.
However, she is handicapped by the commissioner being Mr Matthews' employer.
She cannot order Mr Rennie to remove him.
She will either have to tell the commissioner that she can no longer work with him, which would force a change, or back off and accept Mr Matthews remaining in his job.
