Opening of North Shore Public Defence Service

The Public Defence Service has come a long way since its initial pilot at the Auckland and Manukau courts in 2004.

It was introduced to provide an in-house, high-quality legal aid service through the use of salaried staff, rather than contracted lawyers.

The PDS also provides training and supervision for junior lawyers, encourages competition, and offers a benchmark for the cost of the service. The fact that we're here today to open another PDS shows that the pilot was a success. Budget 2009 also recognised that and provided $5.3-million for it to be rolled out across Auckland.

In December I attended the opening of the Waitakere PDS and today I'm delighted to be doing the same on the North Shore. And this won't be the last PDS opening I attend.

We're expecting Papakura and Pukekohe to have their PDS services up and running later this year, and over the next year it will be expanded into Hamilton, Christchurch, and the Wellington courts.

The PDS will play an increasingly important role in the new legal aid system that we are developing. Dame Margaret Bazley made it clear in her report into the state of our legal aid services that we need to transform the system and build public confidence, because the old ways of doing things are simply not working.

It's essential that we provide a high-quality service for those who use it and the taxpayers who pay for it.

The PDS epitomises many of the qualities I want to see in a transformed legal aid system.  For a start, it's innovative. It's the first time in New Zealand we've had a mixed public-private model for delivering legal aid.

In its short life, the PDS has developed a reputation for delivering high-quality, cost-effective services, as well as being a fertile training ground for young lawyers many of whom will join the private bar.

I am constantly told by many in the justice system that the supervision and training that is offered to PDS lawyers sets them apart in court and in dealing with clients. The private bar clearly has its own heritage of training for young lawyers, and there are many fine and respected advocates practising at the private criminal bar.  

There's no doubt that ensuring quality is critical for the transformation of legal aid.

That was a key finding of Dame Margaret's report.

As part of the Government's package of legal aid reforms, the Ministry of Justice has been working closely with the Law Society to develop a quality assurance framework for lawyers to ensure they have the skills to do the job assigned to them. I would like to thank the society for their work on this.

Under the assurance framework, selection committees will be established to assess the competence of lawyers to provide legal aid services, and lawyers will be approved to provide services for particular matters and for fixed periods. 

The Ministry of Justice will monitor the performance of lawyers, and a Performance Review Committee will be established to consider concerns raised about lawyer performance and can recommend that the Ministry impose sanctions.

The legal aid reforms also include improvements to the duty lawyer scheme, as well ensuring consistent standards for community law centres, streamlining processes for assessing low-cost criminal cases, and bringing the functions of the LSA into the Ministry of Justice. I expect PDS lawyers to take a leadership role through the duty lawyer reforms that the LSA is working on.

Once the Ministry of Justice has assumed responsibility for the administration of the legal aid system, I expect a key focus will be on maintaining and improving the level of services offered within the tight fiscal constraints that the Government is operating under. In short, we are going to be smarter in how we use the resources available to us. 

I expect that the PDS will be able to contribute to the debate about the way forward and that there will be a group of former PDS lawyers at the private bar who will also provide a valuable perspective.

But above all, the PDS must keep an unrelenting focus on its clients. The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, not just a privileged few, can afford access to justice. As the PDS expands, you must continue to deliver a high- quality service and strive for even better ways of working.

These are exciting times for the Public Defence Service.  You have come a long way since 2004, and I expect that you will go from strength to strength.