The Department of Corrections says it is not hiding the real number of assaults by prisoners at the Otago Corrections Facility at Milburn - despite the union recording 128 assaults since its 2007 opening and the Corrections department noting only seven.
Finance Minister Bill English's accusation that prison union members were constraining capacity was an unjustified attack, Labour says.
Prison capacity is being limited by union officers, Finance Minister Bill English said today after delivering a speech about using the private sector more.
An MP from government confidence and supply party ACT today told prison officers who spoke out against private prisons that they had hurt their future job prospects.
Work on a potentially expensive double-bunking fitting-out at the Otago Corrections Facility will start on August 10 and the Department of Corrections says the job will done in time to accommodate up to another 150 prisoners early next year.
Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias made some valid points in a speech about prison numbers, but the speech crossed a constitutional line, Prime Minister John Key said today.
Prisoners in New Zealand are about to reach new highs - the number of people in prison is set to be the highest ever.
The State should be responsible for prisoners not private companies, the Human Rights Commission said today.
Both double-bunking and container cells will be needed to avoid a prison bed crisis due to peak early next year, Corrections Minister Judith Collins says.
An announcement that Dunedin's 113-year-old prison is to be sold has attracted the attention of local heritage protectors who are looking to form a group of interested parties.
The safety of prison officers at the Otago Corrections Facility (OCF) will not be compromised when double bunking is introduced there early next year, management at the Milburn facility says.
Wellington's Mt Crawford Jail is to reopen next month because of a recent increase in the national prison population.
Up to 150 extra prisoners will be accommodated at the Otago Corrections Facility from early next year, prison manager Jack Harrison said last night.
A rare inside look at the workings of the Otago Corrections Facility (OCF) later this month will be offered to 300 members of the public.
The Department of Corrections is tightening security on external prison work parties to stop inmates from doing a runner.
The prison officers union say its members have walked out of meetings today with senior Corrections Department management in protest at proposals to double bunk cells in the country's four newest prisons.
A bill that will allow prisons to be privately managed passed its first reading on a 68-53 vote in Parliament today.
The Council of Trade Unions (CTU) has called on the Maori Party to drop its support for privately managed prisons.
The Government has backed its privately-run prisons policy with a bill that will give it authority to make the change.
The rape and subsequent suicide of a woman at United States private prison was in Parliament today used as a warning about what could happen here.