This is the inquiry on the BBC World Service with me,

Kavita Puri.

Each week, one question, four expert witnesses

and an answer.

In Waikato, Northern New Zealand, a 100 year old grey building stands behind a high barbed wire fence. It's run down and not fit for purpose.

This is Wicaria Prison.

It was at the top of the new Prime Minister, Jessinda Arden's to-do list when she took office

back in 2017. The Treasury suggested it be replaced with a mega prison.

It was the cheapest solution for a growing prison population. But Arden wasn't convinced.

She opted to replace the prison with the same inmate capacity,

adding a mental health unit and additional funding for parole

housing. Why? Research showed smaller prisons, mental health support, and housing on release made rehabilitation more likely.

A higher expense in the shorter term, but greater savings in the longer term and that is essentially

what we are trying to do with the well-being budget. Last month New Zealand became the first Western country to boldly state it should

be judged not by its wealth and economic prosperity, but on its citizens well-being.

And it wasn't just words.

The guiding principle that the next budget would not just be gross domestic product or GDP which measures the total value of

goods and services it would also be happiness

GDP only tells us so much. It doesn't tell us about our mental health and well

being what's going on with housing people, the performance of our education

system. So for Budget 2019, essentially ministers will need to

show that what they're doing will improve the well-being of New Zealanders across

...