Heat on as Govt still paying for slushies
Controversial slushy machines that made headlines and raised vocal chords in Parliament years ago are still being used for prison guards across New Zealand correctional facilities.
Thousands of dollars is being spent on maintenance and syrup options for the cold drinks.
An Official Information Act to the Department of Corrections reveals since the machines were installed in 2018, at a cost of $1 million to the taxpayer, thousands has been spent on syrup and maintenance.
Since they were installed, the Department of Corrections has spent $217,273 on syrups to flavour the ice mixes, and $81,598 on maintenance.
Of the 193 slushy machines, 160 are still in use, the department confirmed.
The decision to introduce iceddrink machines followed a sweltering summer. Wellington recorded its hottest January since records began, back in 1927, as a result of the heat.
The introduction of the slushy machines, available for prison guards, caused a stir in Parliament, with thenOpposition Leader Simon Bridges yelling “slushies” to the House.
“What has the Government delivered? Oh, nothing? Slushies! Kelvin Davis says 193 nearly-$6000 slushy machines,” Bridges yelled across the floor.
Bridges followed up his comments saying: “I would not be at all surprised if it was prisoners, as well, who are getting their lips around these slushies,” pushing back on what he saw as “frivolous spending”.
“This kind of spending shows the Government doesn’t need to be taxing Kiwis more, as they clearly don’t know how to spend what they’re already taking,” Bridges said at the time. When contacted by the Herald about the ongoing use of the slushy machines, Bridges said: “I think I made my views on this well known a while back.”
Corrections and Police Minister Mark Mitchell sung a different tune to that of Bridges, telling NZME in a statement that “operational spend of this nature is a matter for Corrections. My expectation is for Corrections to always prioritise staff safety”.
In 2018, Corrections began to provide crushed ice drinks for prison staff, in hopes to bring down core body temperatures in excessive heat. The department confirmed the drinks are not available to prisoners.
The agency has confirmed since the machines were installed, 4761 bottles of concentrate syrup have been bought to be used in Corrections-managed prisons.
Department of Corrections Custodial Services Commissioner Leigh Marsh said the organisation’s role was to support the safety and wellbeing of its staff, with almost 90 per cent of Corrections staff working in “frontline roles”, including managing people in prison and those on community-based sentences and orders.
“It is important to invest in the areas that will make a real difference to [staff] and their ability to keep safe and do their job properly, while always being conscious of delivering value for money for taxpayers,” Marsh said.
Corrections has been placed under a cost-savings directive, alongside all other public service agencies, across departments and ministries.
Recent months have seen spending put under a microscope, with thousands of jobs on the chopping block as public sector leaders chase down targets for the upcoming May 30 Budget.
Marsh said the department had a “duty of care” to minimise the risk of heat stress to staff, in relation to health-and-safety laws.
The news comes amid widely reported staffing pressures at the department.
A year ago, thousands of corrections workers walked off the job in protest, rejecting a pay offer. A “prison staff crisis” was also reported at Auckland’s Mount Eden prison — remnants of a wider pattern of some prison units being shut amid staff shortages, with unfilled vacancies common.
Marsh added it remained “vitally important” measures are taken to maintain staff safety and comfort, as prisons are volatile environments, with the department citing more than 80 per cent of the prison population having convictions for violence in their history.
The heat is a real issue in prisons over summer for Corrections workers, Marsh said, as staff manage prisoners in hot and confined spaces and conditions, at times wearing heavy equipment including stabresistant vests.
Corrections suggested the heat, alongside a growing prison population, had potential for “significantly increased prisoner tension and aggression,” with risk a staff member or prisoner being seriously hurt.