New prison strategy puts rehab and respect at forefront

The new head of Maori in Corrections says the focus of prison needs to shift from punishing people to showing them respect, and helping them rehabilitate. Topia Rameka is the department's new deputy chief executive Maori, a role that was created as part of Hokai Rangi, it's new strategy aimed at bringing Maori values into the prisons. He's just finished his second week of work and already prison guards have been encouraged to call inmates by their first name, not their last. But as our Maori news correspondent Leigh-Marama McLachlan found when she visited Hawke's Bay prison, not all guards are on board with the change, and Maoritanga can't always flourish behind bars.