OPINION: Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga probably thought he was having a bad day on Wednesday. But things keep getting worse.

The minister has been thrown under a train by his department after it confirmed serious incidents at Mt Eden prison that, if not entirely proving allegations by Labour MP Kelvin Davis about a cover-up over the death of another prisoner, point to exactly the sort of standover tactics and violence that he claims to be rife at the privately-run prison.

Those allegations include an inmate being chased off a landing before being assaulted by another inmate and hospitalised with leg and ankle fractures.

FAIRFAXNZ Corrections boss Ray Smith says a prison officer witnessed the assault and an official report found that the prisoner "fell" over the balustrade.

READ MORE:

* Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga confirms police were not called in to investigate inmate death

* Prisoner death claim by Labour MP Kelvin Davis over fight club allegation

* Corrections boss looks at options for Serco-run prisons after allegations of ill treatment



In another case that only came to light late on Thursday, Corrections boss Ray Smith confirmed a prisoner transported this week from Mt Eden to another prison arrived there with injuries and made serious allegations about his treatment at the privately run facility.

The allegations from Davis include an initiation practice known as "dropping" which involves pushing new inmates off a balcony.

He has also alleged under parliamentary privilege that Serco transferred injured prisoners out to other facilities to avoid copping penalties under its contract with the Government.

The latest admission from Corrections rings enough warning bells that Davis' allegations should have been given more credence than the minister's angry denunciations of them earlier this week as "made up" and hearsay.

Those revelations also raise serious questions about why the minister spent two days blustering about Davis' motives, rather than addressing the substance of his allegations - especially after it emerged that Davis first raised concerns a month ago.

Either Corrections failed to underscore the gravity of the earlier incidents or the minister somehow failed to join the dots.

More serious is Serco's failure to inform the minister of the most recent serious allegations, even after being summoned to his office for a "please explain".

Smith's statement about the latest incident clearly blindsided Lotu-Iiga.

The Government has painted a rosy picture of Serco's "successes" in running the Mt Eden private prison. It suits it to do so because it wants to roll out more private prisons, and use the private prison template to roll out private sector involvement in other areas like welfare.

It is in Serco's interests, meanwhile, to underplay any incidents that might blot that rosy vision. It incurs financial penalties when things go wrong, and it presumably also hopes to pick up future contracts.

The minister has belatedly started to address the matters raised by Davis with the urgency they deserved. But it may be too little, too late.