Last week, Salient published a news article about how VUW halls of residence, Joan Stevens and Weir House, informally contracted the laundry services of Arohata Prison over summer in which prisoners are paid between $0.00 and $1.00 per hour.  

The information had been uncovered after a series of Official Information Act requests to the university.

The Director Student and Campus Living, Rainsforth Dix, responded to Salient, saying, “towards the end of 2016 we identified that some Halls of Residence were using ad hoc laundry services provided by the Department of Corrections over the summer months when they are not occupied by students.”

“That arrangement with the Department of Corrections has stopped and Victoria’s Halls of Residence are now using the same supplier that services the rest of the university.”