The Prime Minister is confident recruitment levels at the Department of Corrections are sufficient to meet commitments of yesterday's announcement by the Government as part of plans to bolster the country's prisons. However, some within the sector have expressed doubts.

In the clearest sign yet that the coalition Government would like to see more criminals locked up, with an investment of $1.9 billion being put into improving the country's prison capacity. The funding will allow for 810 new beds to be installed and tens of millions for the extension of rehabilitation programmes.

Also allocated within the funding is the staffing increase of 685 new corrections officers and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB this morning he feels confident in the Government's ability to improve recruitment capacity.

"Recruitment has gotten much better since February, I think there's been about 20,000 applicants, that was the latest information I saw yesterday," Luxon said.

"I know [Mark Mitchell] adjusted the advertising campaign and it's led to a huge number since February, which is fantastic. We're confident we can get the frontline corrections staff recruited. We've got to allow for pay increases for those staff too which we'll put aside ... so, no, I'm actually quite comfortable on the recruitment side there."

However, industry experts are unsure that throwing money at the problem will be enough to overcome the issue that is the geography of the prison receiving the funding - Waikeria Prison, near Te Awamutu in the Waikato.

As pointed out by Corrections Association president Floyd Du Plessis, the theory of improving prison capacity is workable but the idea of Waikeria being turned into a "mega-prison" has its flaws.

"The concept itself is workable and it's a great idea, the problem we've got and the concern we have is the location. Waikeria, unfortunately, is where a part of the population is very low," he told Hosking.

"The concern we've got is how will you recruit enough staff in the region that just doesn't have the people and needs people to relocate. There's not enough infrastructure and housing to house the staff. So that's the concern around how they've chosen the staff to focus on this increase."

Du Plessis said while the sector had been having challenges retaining staff that would continue in the job through tough working conditions, the Government's announcement had brought light at the end of the tunnel.

He pointed out that wages were a big concern, but the announcement appeared to bring hope.

"Part of this announcement is the Government has a focus on wage increase. That's brilliant to hear," he said.

"[But] we need to hear from them so we can follow through and find out what they are proposing. Because the departments haven't spoken to us at all yet. Commercial sensitivity is a bit of an excuse, to be honest. When it comes to details of the budget, I get that and Mr Mitchell has made contact with us, so we appreciate and acknowledge his contact.

"But when it comes to the department, they should have reached us at a high level to say this is what we're looking at, some ideas, and have that."

Labour leader Chris Hipkins told the media yesterday that Luxon and Corrections Minster Mark Mitchell’s attempt at explaining the announcement would leave more questions than answers after an at-times confusing post-Cabinet press conference where the pair struggled to clarify how much of its extension to Waikeria prison had already been announced by the previous Government.

During the press conference, Mitchell indicated the 810-bed extension included the roughly 600 beds set to be added to Waikeria as announced under the Labour-led Government in 2018.

A statement from Mitchell’s office after the press conference then confirmed the 810 beds would be in addition to the already announced 600.

Luxon also gave confusing messages at one stage, appearing to confirm the $1.9b didn’t include any capital expenditure, meaning it wouldn’t be used to pay for building the extension.

Mitchell and his office later clarified the package included the expansion as well as “some other capital works for the delivery of programme rooms”.

The opening question during Luxon's interview with Hosking this morning was whether he had "cocked up" the press conference - to which Luxon admitted that wires got crossed.

"We got a bit mixed up in the moment, but Mark and I had a chat on the way out after the press conference and he very quickly clarified the numbers," he told Hosking.

"But the bottom line is it's a pretty good announcement because we're serious about restoring law and order, this means we get more frontline corrections officers, more support for offenders and rehabilitation and prison capacity."

Hipkins pounced on the errors, admitting he was unsure of what the Government had announced.

“It’s difficult to criticise that announcement when it’s not clear exactly what the announcement is. Overall, I think that horrific performance in the conference will probably lead to a lot more questions than answers,” he told media yesterday.