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Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams has welcomed the launch of New Zealand’s fourteenth Rangatahi Court in Taupō today.

Te Kooti Rangatahi ki Tūwharetoa was launched at Rauhoto Marae, Taupō.

Ms Adams says the Rangatahi Courts are focused on addressing offending by young Māori by involving communities in the youth justice process and encouraging strong cultural links.

“I welcome the ongoing expansion of the Rangatahi Courts, which attempt to create a different environment for young offenders,” Ms Adams says.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

It’s my pleasure to address this year’s New Zealand Law Foundation awards dinner.

At the risk of offending those I don’t name, I would like to acknowledge some of the dignitaries here this evening:

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams has acknowledged New Zealand’s courts for their hard work in 2015.

“There’s a lot of work underway to modernise our court system and this year we’ve made some good progress. In particular there’s been a huge improvement in the way courts services are managed and improving these services for the public,” Ms Adams says.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams and Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell marked 150 years of Te Kooti Whenua Māori –or the Māori Land Court – in Parliament this evening.

“The Māori Land Court is New Zealand’s oldest and longest established specialist court. It holds a special place in New Zealand and is one of a few courts of its kind in the world so it’s important we recognise this significant milestone,” says Ms Adams.

Ms Adams said the Māori Land Court played an important role in New Zealand’s justice system.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams and Police Minister Michael Woodhouse will travel to Canberra today to represent the New Zealand Government at the fourth meeting of the Law, Crime and Community Safety Council.

“With key sessions on law enforcement, law reform, and family and community safety, this is an invaluable forum for discussing current justice sector issues and sharing ideas and experiences,” Ms Adams says.

Reforms to make the coronial system more efficient and reduce the impact on families took a step forward in Parliament last night, says Justice Minister Amy Adams.

“Making the coronial system more responsive is beneficial for everyone involved, especially those affected by a sudden or unexplained death,” Ms Adams says.

The Bill stems from a targeted review of the Coroners Act 2006 which showed the system was working well overall but improvements could be made.

The Bill makes several changes, including:

​The Government’s relentless focus on reducing crime is delivering outstanding results, with the number of people appearing in court continuing to fall.

Justice Minister Amy Adams today welcomed two sets of Conviction and Sentencing statistics covering both adult and youth offenders for the year ending June 2015.

“The figures show that the number of adults charged in court has decreased by 36 per cent since its peak in 2009/10 – down 5 per cent in the last year,” says Ms Adams.

Work on proposals to strengthen Dunedin’s historic courthouse is continuing at pace, Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams says.

The Minister met with officials from the Ministry of Justice this week to discuss the draft business case.

Ms Adams says the work done to date confirms both the complexity and cost of the project to strengthen the court house.

Justice Minister Amy Adams has announced new information sharing rules between family and criminal courts as a part of the Government’s work to help reduce the harm caused by family violence.

The new rules allow judges to access more information, including affidavits, victim impact statements, and summaries of facts from family violence proceedings that weren’t previously easily available to them.

Justice Minister Amy Adams today opened the upgraded Manukau District Courthouse after a $51 million makeover that future-proofs one of the country’s busiest courthouses.

The Manukau District Court receives about 11 per cent of the country’s criminal cases and around 8 per cent of family cases each year. The courthouse also serves New Zealand’s youngest and fastest growing civic population.   

The Court upgrade includes four new jury trial courtrooms, extra hearing rooms, holding cells and improved judges’ facilities.

A new pilot programme will soon see Judges making bail decisions automatically receive a new report on defendants’ family violence history, Justice Minister Amy Adams has announced.

From September 1, the trial will see Judges in Porirua and Christchurch receive a Family Violence Summary report which details all recorded family violence incidents involving each defendant. It includes police safety orders or protection orders, as well as any breaches of these.

The Dunedin Courthouse has become the eighteenth court to connect to the audio-visual link (AVL) network, Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams has announced.

Dunedin becomes the final court to hook into the technology in a $27.8 million upgrade and expansion of AVL links throughout New Zealand. There are also 13 prisons online.

Ms Adams says the technology allows prisoners and defendants remanded in custody to appear in the court without leaving jail, increasing safety and security for the public and court users.

New Zealanders are seeing huge improvements in the time it takes to access justice services with a big reduction in the average age of District Court criminal cases, Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams announced.

As at the end of December 2014, there was a nationwide reduction of 21.5 per cent in the average age of criminal cases since April 2013 – with an average time of 99 days for active cases.

The number of young people (aged 10 to 16 years old) appearing in court has more than halved since 2007, Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams announced today.

The latest Conviction and Sentencing and Child and Youth Prosecution Statistics for 2014 show the number of children and adults facing charges in courts is decreasing.

“More than 400 fewer young people appeared in court than in 2013. This is the lowest point in more than 20 years and more than 50 per cent lower than its peak in 2007,” says Ms Adams.

A new youth court for Tauranga will place a stronger focus on addressing offending by young Māori says Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams.



Ms Adams today spoke at the opening of the Rangatahi Court at Hairini Marae in Tauranga. 


The Rangatahi Courts, a judiciary-led initiative, were established in 2008 to provide a better rehabilitative response to Māori young offenders by encouraging strong cultural links and involving communities in the youth justice process. The Tauranga court is the thirteenth to open.



Tena koutou nga Iwi o Tauranga moana nei (Greetings/salutations to you all the tribes of this area - Tauranga )

Ngai te Rangi     Ngai te Rangi (one of the Iwi)

Ngati Ranginui   Ngati Ranginui (one of the Iwi)

Ngati Pukenga   Ngati Pukenga (one of the Iwi).

Taku mihi tenei   ki a koutou katoa          (This is my acknowledgment to you all.)

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams has welcomed the addition of the Gisborne courthouse to the audio visual link (AVL) network that connects courts and prisons.

The new link is the latest in a $27.8 million upgrade and expansion of AVL links to a total of 17 courts and 13 prisons. The installation of AVL into the Dunedin courthouse is expected to be completed by May.

A Bill to speed up justice and modernise New Zealand’s courts has passed its second reading in Parliament today.

Justice Minister Amy Adams says the Judicature Modernisation Bill supports the Government’s commitment to delivering a 21^st Century justice system.

“New Zealand has a strong, well-functioning justice system. However society and technology are changing rapidly and it’s increasingly clear that it must be modernised if it is to deliver in a 21^st century world,” says Ms Adams.

A Government initiative which threatens loss of licence over unpaid fines has brought in an extra $20.4 million since its introduction one year ago, Justice Minister Amy Adams has announced.

Driver Licence Stop Orders (DLSOs) can be placed on anyone who fails to pay traffic-related fines imposed by a Court, Police or local government authority – or reparations imposed by a Court for traffic-related offences.