Associate Corrections Minister Pita Sharples says a contract should be signed soon with Hawkes Bay iwi to help run the Whare Oranga Ake unit attached to Wakaria prison.
The 32-bed Hastings unit and one at Spring Hill prison south of Auckland will use a combination of work experience, tikanga-based counselling and whanau support to get Maori inmates back into the community faster.
Dr Sharples says his aim is to get the inmates out of the system once and for all.
