Worth Richard: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Worth Richard: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:622;Page:17217] 
4.  
RICHARD WORTH (National—Epsom) 
 to the  
Attorney-General 
: Does she agree with the reported view of Hon Trevor Mallard that it is “a pity” that the Supreme Court was not appointed on merit; if not on what basis were the appointments to the Supreme Court made? 
Hon MARGARET WILSON (Attorney-General) 
: 
 All New Zealand judges are appointed on merit and it goes without saying that the Supreme Court judges were meritorious appointments. 
Richard Worth 
: When Mr Mallard made his criticism in a formal setting to an influential group of New Zealanders was he concerned about specific judges in the Supreme Court or was he condemning the whole group as being devoid of merit? 
Hon MARGARET WILSON 
: I suggest that the member directs that question to the person who made the statement. I certainly would not want to delve into the mind of Mr Mallard. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Has the Attorney-General received similar comments; if so what did they say and from whom? 
Hon MARGARET WILSON 
: Yes. Mr Worth was actually reported in the  
New Zealand Herald  
on 11 November 2003 stating that appointments were dictated by the Prime Minister and were definitely not merit-based. He went on to expand on this further in the  
Dominion Post  
on the same day which reported him as saying that “the appointments made a mockery of the Government’s promise to select on merit based on the recommendations of an independent panel.” He then concluded by saying that Prime Minister Helen Clark’s bidding had been done by elevating judges purely on the basis of seniority. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: Will the Attorney-General take the opportunity to repudiate in the strongest possible terms the comments made by Mr Trevor Mallard criticising Her Majesty’s Supreme Court judges in light of the excellent judgment shown by those judges in their first case  
Prebble 
 v  
Mrs Huata 
? 
Hon MARGARET WILSON 
: I am delighted to see that the honourable member has in fact changed his mind on this matter and now agrees with me. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Does the Attorney-General agree that establishing an independent judicial appointments commission as proposed by the Green Party and subsequently outlined in the Ministry of Justice discussion document would reassure New Zealanders about future judicial appointments particularly in light of what appear to be attacks on judicial independence by members of the executive and Parliament? 
Hon MARGARET WILSON 
: Yes a discussion paper is being prepared and I hope it will be available in the new year to build on the discussion paper that has already been out there because of the few submissions we received as I want to make sure there is proper consultation. I am not sure of course whether that will satisfy some people—those who support courts only when they agree with them. 
Richard Worth 
: How do these ill-judged attacks by senior Ministers including the Prime Minister and Mr Mallard advance the relationship between the executive and the judiciary? 
Hon MARGARET WILSON 
: A robust debate in any relationship is good for it and I am pleased to report that the relationship is an extremely good one.