Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says the coalition government will spend $1.9 billion over the next four years on more prison beds, prison staff and rehabilitation of remand prisoners.
The money will fund an 810-bed expansion at Waikeria Prison in Waikato.
Of that amount, $442 million would come from savings from back-office functions.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the cuts to government agencies' back-office functions, including corrections, were a “good thing” because they prioritized frontline services and were “just something you do as a CEO.”
“You take over an organization, you have a certain budget, you have to ask yourself: With the dollars I spend, am I getting the results I'm being asked to deliver?
“We've been very clear about the goals and objectives we have, and how CEOs deploy that money is completely up to them.
“But in this case, it's a great example of how we've been able to recycle money from the back office into the front office so we can better support corrections services on the front lines.”