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Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams has welcomed a new joint initiative to use video-conferencing to enable judges to appear virtually in remote courts.

The initiative, involving Family Court judges in Northland and Southland/Central Otago, aims to reduce the number of judicial and court users travelling to remote locations for short fixtures and reduce adjournments associated with poor weather.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams and Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell have congratulated the Ministry of Justice on winning the IPANZ Excellence Award for Crown-Māori Relationships for the innovative Rangatahi Courts initiative.

"This award is a superb endorsement of the partnership between the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to deliver a process that better engages Maori young offenders, drawing on the strength of whānau and iwi,” says Ms Adams.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams has today met with Rotorua court staff and heard about their community initiatives, as part of a local visit.

“The Rotorua court team are doing some incredible work, which includes running the ninth busiest criminal court in the country,” says Ms Adams.

Ms Adams visited the Rotorua court, where a court has operated on the Tutanekai Street site since 1884.

The necessary funding to restore Dunedin’s historic courthouse has been secured in Budget 2016, Courts Minister Amy Adams has announced.

The announcement paves the way for the release of tender documents, which is the next step in finding a contractor to lead the restoration.

“It’s great to see steady progress being made on an iconic project that means a great deal to the Dunedin community,” Ms Adams says.

The pioneering work of the Ngā Kooti Rangatahi/Rangatahi Court has been acknowledged in its receipt of the 2015 Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration Award (AIJA) for Excellence in Judicial Administration, says Courts and Justice Minister Amy Adams.   

“I want to congratulate the judges and Ministry of Justice, in particular the Chief District Court Judge and Principal Youth Court Judge, and Youth Court Judge Heemi Taumaunu who established the first Rangatahi Court in Gisborne back in 2008,” says Ms Adams.

Budget 2016 invests heavily in core justice services, with $208.4 million in additional funding over the next four years – the largest increase to Justice and Courts in almost a decade, Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams says.

“This investment underpins the Government’s commitment to delivering core justice services and keeping New Zealanders safe. It will better support access to justice and strengthen efficiencies across the system,” Ms Adams says. 

Courts Minister Amy Adams says recent refurbishments and upgrades to the Waitakere District Court will improve court facilities and services for the people of Waitakere.

While visiting the 20 year old Court today, Minister Adams said the Court had been badly in need of attention to both improve the presentation of the building and ensure the availability of quality court services.

A pilot to support judges to make better informed family violence bail decisions expands to Wellington, Wairarapa and Northland, Justice Minister Amy Adams and Police Minister Judith Collins have announced today.

The pilot programme gives judges making bail decisions in family violence cases more information about the risks defendants pose.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams placed the last bit of cement on the Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct’s rooftop as part of today’s topping off ceremony.

“This marks an important milestone in the Precinct’s development as well as a chance to recognise the significant progress we have made since construction began 15 months ago,” Ms Adams says.

“There’s now just over a year to go until we deliver on our commitment to provide Cantabrians with modern and effective justice and emergency services.

Policies to tackle youth crime are succeeding with the number of children and young people appearing in New Zealand’s courts dropping by more than 60 percent since 2007/8, Justice Minister Amy Adams says.

In the 2007/08 financial year, 4998 children and young people (10-16 year olds) appeared in youth courts. By the 2014/15 financial year, this had dropped by almost 61 per cent to 1959.

Ms Adams says the Government remains committed to driving down youth crime.

Courts Minister Amy Adams has today welcomed an agreement with Waitaki District Council that will see the restoration and re-opening of the historic courthouse in Oamaru.

“Having seen and heard firsthand the concern that many members of the Oamaru community have for this building, I tasked officials to work constructively alongside Waitaki Council to find a lasting solution for the Oamaru Courthouse,” says Ms Adams.

Christchurch’s largest multi-agency project, the Justice and Emergency Services Precinct, is now 12 months away from completion, and reflects the Government’s ongoing commitment to the rebuild, says Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams.

“This $300 million investment is unique because for the first time, all essential regional justice and emergency services will be brought together under one roof, encouraging a more collaborative approach to delivering services and responding to emergencies.”

Courts Minister Amy Adams today announced that Cabinet has agreed to the strengthening and restoration of Dunedin’s historic courthouse.

“The Dunedin courthouse is one of New Zealand’s most notable historic buildings and Cabinet’s decision reflects its significance, both as a part of the city’s rich cultural heritage and its importance to the region’s legal fraternity,” Ms Adams says.

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.