New Zealand hosts Trans-Tasman crime and safety meeting

Ministers from across Australia and New Zealand will meet to discuss Trans-Tasman cooperation on topics from family violence to natural disasters.

New Zealand will host the fifth meeting of the Law, Crime and Community Safety Council (LCCSC) in Queenstown from 27-28 April.

Justice Minister Amy Adams will chair the plenary session on Family Violence and Community Safety. Police Minister Judith Collins and Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye will chair sessions on Law Enforcement and Emergency Management, respectively.

“The Council meeting is an important forum for discussing current justice sector and emergency issues facing New Zealand and Australia, by allowing our respective jurisdictions to share ideas and experiences,” Ms Adams says.

The Council is an Australian and New Zealand ministerial council that helps maintain a national (Australian) and Trans-Tasman focus on fighting crime and promoting best practice in law, criminal justice and community safety.

It’s made up of around 17 Attorneys General and Ministers from across law and order and emergency management portfolios from New Zealand and all Australian jurisdictions, and meets twice each year. New Zealand is also scheduled to host a second meeting in October 2016.

The focus of the meeting will be in the areas of illegal firearms, unexplained wealth, domestic violence, compensation for child sexual abuse and national disaster resilience strategy.