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| Taxpayers facing $1m legal bill for inmates' case |
| By Stuff.co.nz |
| Published: 09/20/2004 |
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Inmates, who were kept in the behaviour management regime at Auckland Prison in New Zealand, were this month awarded $130,000 after a landmark human rights case that found the regime breached the Bill of Rights. The award sparked a storm of controversy and led to calls for victims to have first call on compensation payments to mistreated inmates. The Corrections Department is also appealing both the ruling and the payment. However, figures issued by Corrections Minister Paul Swain yesterday show the department's legal costs were about 10 times bigger than the $130,000 award. In answer to a written question from United Future MP Marc Alexander, Mr Swain said Corrections spent $616,938 defending the case up to June 1. The figure does not include the inmates' $358,000 legal aid bill, which the department has been ordered to pay, taking the total cost so far to just under $1 million. That is set to rise further as the current bill does not include costs between June 1 and September 2, when the award was made, and the cost of the appeal. The legal bill raises the spectre of huge costs if the other 200 inmates who went through the regime seek compensation, as has been suggested. The prisoners' lawyer, Tony Ellis, said rather than attacking inmates for taking claims, Mr Goff should be asking what action had been taken against Corrections employees who ran the programme. "That's a lot of money to have been spent on defending the indefensible. Who has been disciplined, which manager of Corrections has been removed for running this inhumane system?" A Corrections spokeswoman said the department had been advised not to comment on any aspect of the case, including whether there was any disciplinary action, till the appeal was heard. Mr Swain also declined to comment, though he pointed out the department was appealing the ruling and the award. National Party leader Don Brash said yesterday that his party wanted inmates prevented from receiving compensation. He offered to support the Government if it introduced urgent, retrospective legislation to Parliament this week that blocked compensation. Prime Minister Helen Clark said people did not want to see inmates receive payouts, but they expected prisons to be accountable for mistreatment. |
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