Courts and Criminal Matters Bill passes its first reading

  • Georgina te Heuheu
Courts

A bill to enhance the courts' powers to collect fines, reparation payments, and civil debt passed its first reading in Parliament today.

"This bill will strengthen enforcement measures available when people do not arrange or continue to pay outstanding monies, as ordered by the courts," Courts Minister Georgina te Heuheu said.

The omnibus bill amends the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, the Land Transport Act 1998, the Sentencing Act 2002, and the District Courts Act 1947, and consequentially amends 16 other Acts.

The main amendments are:

  • The Summary Proceedings Act 1957 -
  • o To authorise the routine release of the amount of overdue penalties by the Ministry of Justice to credit reporting agencies and the routine release of credit applicant information to the Ministry of Justice by credit reporting agencies to assist with fines enforcement.
  • o To give courts priority over secured creditors for seized property where the overdue penalties could have been discovered before finance was advanced to purchase that property and these penalties are still overdue.
    • To authorise home detention or prison sentences to be substituted for unaffordable and unenforceable reparation orders.
  • The Land Transport Act 1998 - to introduce Driver Licence Stop Orders as a new penalty enforcement measure for people who have not made arrangements to pay their overdue traffic offences. 
  • The Sentencing Act 2002 - to improve the operation of reparation and vehicle confiscation as penalty regimes.
  • The District Courts Act 1947 - to improve the operation of the civil debt enforcement process by streamlining the most commonly used processes - Orders for Examination and Attachment Orders.

"The bill represents the most comprehensive set of legislative measures designed to strengthen the recovery of unpaid monies in 12 years," Mrs te Heuheu said.

"The legislation demonstrates the Government's determination to address the high level of unpaid monies.  As at 31 December 2009, $799.2 million of reparation, fines, other monetary penalties and court costs remained unpaid.

"The bill was developed over more than two years, and will extend the mechanisms for the recovery of unpaid traffic fines."

The bill has been referred to the Law and Order Select Committee.

"I welcome the public's participation during the select committee process," Mrs te Heuheu said