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Over the last few days, video footage has emerged which apparently shows prisoners at Mt Eden Corrections Facility fighting and engaging in other activities that are banned inside New Zealand prison facilities.

An internal investigation into these events is being carried out by Serco, which runs the remand facility.  Police have also been advised and may conduct their own investigation.

More than 1000 people a week are now using the telephone interpreter service Language Line, Ethnic Communities Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

Over the last year, almost 56,500 phone calls were made to access Language Line, which allows non-English speakers to communicate with organisations across the public, private and not for profit sectors confidentially and free of charge.

A former government minister and a former TVNZ reporter are among the new faces in the council that advises Pacific Peoples Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.

Nine Pacific professionals and leaders have been selected to sit on the Pacific Peoples Advisory Council for a three-year term from July 1. They replace the former council of 11 members, whose term has ended.

The new council will focus on education, employment, entrepreneurship and economic development issues.

Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga will meet his Australian state counterparts this week to discuss how current policies and practices are working in the Australasian prison system.

Mr Lotu-Iiga will attend the three-day Corrective Services Ministers conference in Darwin from today.

He will join state Corrections and Justice ministers to discuss how policies and practices such as working prisons and vocational and education training are creating positive change in prisons in both countries.

An assessment tool for use in the residential aged care sector has been rolled out across the country, Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

The project has trained 2511 registered nurses in the use of the interRAI Long Term Care Facilities assessment.

The standardised assessment tool is designed to improve the care of older people in residential care facilities, with nurses able to create tailor-made care plans for residents.

Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga will visit a Samoan prison today to see first-hand how New Zealand Corrections staff are working to help create an independent and effective prison service in the Pacific nation.

New Zealand Corrections staff have been training and working alongside their Samoan counterparts in local prisons since its government decided in January this year to separate its police and prison services.

The new structure will mean the services will have separate reporting lines but will continue to share a minister.

Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga today officially opened the refurbished North Shore Community Corrections site in Glenfield.

The refurbishment of the site is part of a five-year nationwide programme to make Community Corrections sites more secure and better equipped to help offenders turn their lives around.

Mr Lotu-Iiga says the improvements to the North Shore site will benefit staff, visitors and community-based offenders who report there.

Pacific Peoples Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga will travel to Tonga today to attend the coronation of King Tupou VI.

Mr Lotu-Iiga will attend the coronation in Nuku’alofa tomorrow as part of a New Zealand delegation that includes Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, Labour leader Andrew Little, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and Māori Party co-leader Marama Fox.

King Tupou VI succeeded his older brother King Tupou V following the latter’s death in 2012.

Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga today helped celebrate the return of 8500ha of Crown land to Ngāti Tūwharetoa.

Some of the land on the Tongariro/Rangipō Prison site will continue to be used by Corrections to help rehabilitate prisoners.  This includes about 700ha for a training farm for prisoners to hone their farming skills, giving them real work opportunities on release.

The sale of the land to Ngāti Tūwharetoa was finalised today at a ceremony at Rongomai Marae near Taupō.

Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga today officially opened the refurbished Taupō Community Corrections site.

Mr Lotu-Iiga says the improvements will benefit staff, visitors and community-based offenders who report there.

One of the key features of the refurbishment is the reception counter which has anti-climb features and is overlooked by staff in the open plan work area for increased visibility and security. 

Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga today officially opened the refurbished Te Awamutu Community Corrections site.

Mr Lotu-Iiga says the improvements will benefit staff, visitors and the community-based offenders who report there.

One of the key features of the refurbishment is the reception counter which has anti-climb features and is overlooked by staff in an open plan work area for increased visibility and security.

On-body cameras for frontline Corrections staff are being rolled out at the same time as new lightweight stab-resistant body armour, Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has announced.

The body armour is designed to have the camera mounted on it.

The introduction of 1000 on-body cameras across all prisons, beginning in Arohata Prison near Wellington, follows successful trials in two prisons last year. Results suggest the cameras reduced disruptive incidents by 15-20 per cent compared with the year before.

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner says Customs has destroyed over 2.5 tonnes of abandoned tobacco and collected $1.35 million in additional duty and taxes since the drop in tobacco duty free limits last November.

“People seem to be learning about the change. The amount of tobacco abandoned at airports by those not wanting to pay duty is dropping from the 100 kilograms Customs was initially collecting every week,” Ms Wagner says.

The volunteers behind a project to improve the lives of Cook Islanders living in Auckland have been recognised for their work this National Volunteer Week.

“I congratulate the Takitumu Cultural and Arts Society on the successful completion of their community development scheme project,” says Pacific Peoples Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.

The Takitumu Cultural and Arts Society’s three-year project aimed to improve outcomes for Auckland’s Cook Islands population.

Ramadan has begun and Ethnic Communities Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga wishes all Muslims in New Zealand the best for the holy month.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is regarded as the time in which the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. To mark this event, Muslims around the world fast for a month.

Pacific Peoples Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has congratulated all the winners in last night’s Vodafone Pacific Music Awards.

“The Vodafone Pacific Music Awards night is one of the biggest events in our calendar. It is a chance for the music and Pacific communities to come together to celebrate the talent and success of our Pacific musicians,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

A house built by prisoners has been handed over to a family in need in Northland.

In a first for Northland Region Corrections Facility, prisoners travelled to Dargaville each day to build the house for housing charity Habitat for Humanity.

A bill that will improve the safety of victims and the public has had its first reading in Parliament.

The Electronic Monitoring of Offenders Legislation Bill will now go to a select committee, says Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.

“This bill recognises opportunities to better protect the public by giving courts the option of imposing electronic monitoring as a condition when sentencing some higher-risk offenders,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

Good progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of a major review of disability support services, Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says.

“Substantial changes to the Ministry of Health’s processes and systems and managing provider performance have been made,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

“This review was a response to concerns raised by the disability sector around transparent performance and quality management of ministry-funded provider services.

Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga is urging smokers to make this Sunday the day they quit for good.

The theme of World Smokefree Day 2015 on Sunday is “It’s about whānau”.

“World Smokefree Day is an excellent opportunity to encourage whānau and friends to get behind those who want to quit smoking to improve their health and the health of those around them,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

Ethnic Communities Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga will hold an evening community forum for residents of central Auckland tomorrow.

"The forums will give us opportunities to discuss the issues and challenges facing our ethnic communities," Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

"We will also focus on how we can help New Zealand move forward together economically, socially and culturally by working closely to inform government policy and practice.

Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga today officially opened the refurbished Upper Hutt Community Corrections site.

Mr Lotu-Iiga says the improvements will benefit staff, visitors and community-based offenders who report to the site.

One of the key features of the refurbishment is the reception counter that has anti-climb features and is overlooked by staff in an open plan work area for increased visibility and security. 

Today is a chance for all New Zealanders to join African communities around the world in celebrating Africa Day, Ethnic Communities Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-liga says.

Africa Day will be celebrated with an event involving a diverse range of ethnic groups at Parliament this evening.

“I am delighted to join with New Zealand’s African communities to mark this significant occasion,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

New Zealanders will celebrate the Samoan language this week with cultural performances, speeches and debates all over the country.

Samoan Language Week begins today. It is the first of seven Pacific language weeks to be celebrated this year.

Pacific language weeks allow us to celebrate the diversity that makes New Zealand unique, says Pacific Peoples Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.

“Languages contribute to the cultural richness of our society and recognise that we are global citizens.”