Australian detention camps to run NZ prisons

Company to run Auckland prison "linked to violence"
Overseas prisons run by the company that has been chosen to manage Mt Eden Auckland Central Remand Prison have been linked to violence and overcrowding, the Green Party says. Serco, a British company with operations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and North America, was today named as the winner of a contract to manage the Auckland prison.

So it wasn't the company who runs the Guantanamo Bay detention camp or the company that has high prisoner beatings, it's the one with the dodgy track record of abusing and detaining immigrants in Australia, oh yay, how wonderful, what a giant step forward for civilized society.

The lie that this Government continue to spin that the private prison industry will save money (a lie the mainstream media perpetuate) has been shown for the farce it is in the calculations crusher Collins has given regarding the so called $1.2billion 'revenue' from private prisons.

Crusher Collins couldn't sing enough praise for the $1.2billion this private prison is supposed to generate in 30 years yet the reality is that the Private Prison at Wiri (that Len Brown wants to fast track) WILL ACTUALLY COST $1.3BILLION! so we are out of pocket $100million PLUS the fact that the head of GEO told the select committee into Private Prisons that it wouldn't be cheaper than the public system.

Let's remind ourself exactly what the head of GEO, Pieter Bezuidenhout told the select committee on private prisons..

While National MPs had emphasised cost savings, that should not be the only driver, Mr Bezuidenhout said.

"Privatisation is not about cost savings. If that's all you want to achieve I am saying that you are knocking at the wrong door.

...cough, cough - I'm sorry, what the fuck did he just say? Oh it isn't about cost savings? The head of one of the private companies tells you straight to your face NZ that it won;t be cheaper, yet because of the feral public debate over punishment (we are currently ripping away Prisoners rights to vote for pure vengeance worship) caused by groups like the Sensible Sentencing Trust (who may or may not be getting donations from the private prison industry) to feed a panic about crime that is driven by the middle classes and fueled by a media who over-represent crime for ratings heat rather than genuine civic light.

This drive towards a prison nation puts us second in the world for incarceration rates when our crime rate overall actually compare favourably against the rest of the rest of the world has created a Monster Department. It's called the Monster Department because it creates monsters. We have a media who leads if it bleeds (in March 2006, crime was 22% of the monthly One Network News and was in the headlines 29%, but by March 2010, crime was only 14% of the monthly One Network News yet was in the headlines 35% of the time) so the viewer is bombarded with news designed to push their buttons for ratings gain, but the knock on impact is that residual hatred that is created by the media's myopic focus on ratings driven crime leaks into the political sphere where it gets twisted to promote kneejerk 'get tough on crime' crap which push for punitive policy which only produces counter productive outcomes.

The private sector may be able to do some things more 'efficiently' than the Government, but public services are for the benefit of the people, corporations are to maximize profits for themselves - no matter how the right spin it, that is the reality.