Annual Report 2021/2022

I roto i te tau o ngā wero nui, he nui taku poho kererū ki te 10,000 kaimahi i whakapeto ngoi ia rā ki te whai i ō mātou whāinga o te whakaiti i te mahi hara anō me te whakapai ake i te haumaru tūmatanui. E tino mārama ana au he tino whakaruhi, tino taumaha hoki i ētahi wā. Inarā te mīharo o te pūmau o ā matou kaimahi ki te hiki i te oranga o ngā tāngata e whakahaeretia ana e mātou, otirā te whakaatu ki a rātou te huarahi ki te oranga.

Kāore e kore he pānga nui tō te KOWHEORI-19 i runga i ētahi o ā mātou whakahaere. Engari puta noa i te tau, i tū whakahīhī tonu au ki te raungāwari o ā mātou kaimahi ki te urutau ki ngā momo āhuatanga hurihuri o te wā. I te nuinga o te wā, ko te tikanga o tēnei he kōtuitui haere i tētahi whatunga tuatini hei whakatutuki i ngā otinga paetata, otirā koinā tētahi āhuatanga i akiakitia, i te mea nā tērā āhuatanga i pakari ai te tū a Te Ara Poutama hei te roanga o te tau. Tāpiri ki tēnei ko te whakarite kia āhei atu te hunga e whakahaeretia ana e mātou ki ō rātou whānau i te wā kāore i whakahaeretia ngā toronga ā-kanohi, te whakamahi nui i te hangarau, me te whakarite i te haumarutanga o te hunga e tiakina ana e mātou.

Ko te tuarongo o tēnei, ko tētahi mākete kaimahi tino kikī, ngā herenga rohenga whenua me te pikinga o te whakarerekētanga o ngā kaimahi, nō reira kua hīkina e mātou ā mātou mahi ki te rapu kaimahi, te pupuri kaimahi me te whakapiki i ngā pūkenga hoki. Mā tēnei e whakarite kia nui ake te mahi whakarauora whāiti hei whakaheke i te mahi hara anō, te hiki i tō mātou aronga ki ngā wāhine kei te rāngai whakahaere, ā, me te haumi ki te haumarutanga o ā mātou kaimahi me te hapori.

Ka noho tonu te haumaru me te oranga o ā mātou kaimahi te kaupapa matua, me te aronga nui hoki ki te whakaiti i ngā mahi whakarekereke i roto i ngā whare herehere. I te marama o Mei 2021, i runga anō i ngā whakawhiti kōrero me ō mātou hoa ūniana, i whakarewaina e mātou te Mahere Mahi Whakaiti Whakarekereke me te Ririhau, i runga anō i ngā mātāpono e rima: ngā tukanga whakatikatika ā-roto, te whakangungu kaimahi, ngā taputapu haumaru whaiaro, ngā taumata kaimahi haumaru me te oranga kaimahi.

E mahi nei ā mātou kaimahi i tētahi taiao uaua, ā, kei mua i a rātou ia rā ngā āhuatanga uaua te whakahaere, ā-tinana, ā-hinengaro hoki, otirā kua kite mātou i te haerenga tonutanga o te whakarekereke me te ririhau i roto i ngā whare herehere. Ko te mea kē, e kore e taea e mātou te whakakore katoa i te whakarekereke, engari e ū tonu ana mātou ki te whakapeto ngoi kia tino haumaru te taiao mahi mā ngā kaimahi me te hunga kei ngā whare herehere.

I a mātou e anga atu ana ki te toru tau mai i te whakarewatanga o tā mātou mahere rautaki a Hōkai Rangi, kei te mana tonu ngā putanga i whakaritea i te tuatahi. Engari he whakahaere rerekē mātou ināianei mai i ngā tau e toru ki muri, ā, he nui te rerekē o te āhua o te taiao ō-waho.

I a mātou e tiro ana ki te whakahou i a Hōkai Rangi, ka iti ake te aronga ki ngā mahi meroiti, me te aronga kaha kē ki ngā wāhanga matua e whā: te haumi ki te āheinga o tā mātou rāngai kaimahi, te tuitui hononga kia whiwhi rangapūtanga mātou i ngā taumata katoa, te whakarite ka taea e mātou te ine i te pānga o ngā rautaki, me te whakarite i te taiao ako hei tautoko i ngā akoranga ka urutautia, ka whakawhitia hoki.

E matapae ana ahau ko te tau 2022/23 te wā tika ki te whakaū i ngā panoni me ngā mahere o tēnei tau, te hanga i ngā taiao mahi pai ake, haumaru ake hoki, me te whakarite kei te mahi ngātahi mātou me te hapori me ngā kaihautū o ngā iwi kia hāngai pū ā mātou mahi whakahaere. Kāore e kore, ka panonihia ētahi āhuatanga, ētahi kei te mōhiotia, ētahi kāore anō kia ea ake. Heoi anō, ko tāku e mōhio ana ki te tīma Whakatika, ka rite mātou ki te whakatutuki i ērā ahakoa te aha, kia taea ai e mātou te āwhina kia pai ake ai te oranga o te iwi, kia noho haumaru hoki ngā tāngata o Aotearoa.

In a year of significant challenges, I could not be prouder of the nearly 10,000 staff who every day worked towards our goals of reducing re-offending and improving public safety. I absolutely acknowledge that at times it has been tiring, and that it has been stressful. But our people’s dedication to improve the lives of the people we manage, and set them on a road to a better life, has been nothing short of inspiring.

There is no doubt COVID-19 had a significant effect on some of our operations. But over the year, I was continually impressed by the ways our people were able to adjust to changing situations in environments that were tumultuous. Often this meant creating local solutions in an extensive and complex network, something that is being encouraged as it held Corrections in good stead throughout the year. This included ensuring the people we manage had access to their whānau when in-person visits could not occur, the greater use of technology, and being agile to ensure the safety of the people in our management.

This was against a backdrop of a very tight labour market, border restrictions and increased staff turnover, so we have increased our efforts in recruitment, retention, and lifting the capabilities of our workforce. This will ensure we can do more targeted rehabilitation to reduce re-offending, improve our focus on women in our management, and invest in the safety of our people and the community.

Staff safety and wellbeing remains a top priority, and a key focus has been the reduction of violence in prisons. In May 2021, in consultation with our union partners, we launched the Violence and Aggression Joint Action Plan, based on five principles: internal disciplinary processes, staff training, personal protective equipment, safe staffing levels, and staff wellbeing.

Our frontline staff work in a challenging environment and are every day faced with circumstances that can be difficult to manage, both physically and mentally, and we have seen violence and aggression continue to be a pervasive part of the prison environment. The reality is the threat of violence is something we cannot eliminate entirely, but we remain committed to doing everything we can to provide the safest environment possible for staff and people in prison.

As we approach three years since our strategic plan Hōkai Rangi was launched, the outcomes we initially established remain unchanged. However, we are a different organisation than we were three years ago, and the external environment has also changed markedly.

As we look to refresh Hōkai Rangi, there will be less focus on micro-actions and a stronger focus on four major areas: investing in the capability of our workforce, building relationships to have partnerships at all levels, ensuring we are able to measure the impact of strategies, and ensuring we have a learning environment that will support lessons to be adapted and transferred.

I see 2022/23 as a year that we can embed the changes and plans we made this year, create better, safer working environments, and ensure we are working with community and iwi leaders to make our operations fit-for-purpose. No doubt there will be challenges, some known, and others yet to emerge. Yet what I know of the Corrections team, we will be ready to meet them whatever the circumstances so we can continue to help make people’s lives better and keep New Zealanders safe.