Dean JacquiJACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki): My colleague on this side of the Chamber gave a very good account of the Access to Subordinate Instruments Project which I found fascinating—so fascinating I thought I would extend the theme a little—Jacinda Ardern: Oh good—very pleased.JACQUI DEAN: —I know I know—because Vote Parliamentary Counsel provides a very useful service to select committees and to Parliament. It is only when you find yourself sitting in a committee dealing with the Contract and Commercial Law Bill which is the first revision bill that we as a committee are going to have to get very familiar with the programme—which is called the statutes revision programme. The committee is going to have the opportunity to examine the Contract and Commercial Law Bill which will have the impact of consolidating and modernising 11 statutes into one. It might sound a little bit dry standing here in Parliament but actually if you think about the practice of law all throughout New Zealand there are law firms of every shape and size in practically every town and city in New Zealand that will benefit from this work. Why is that important? Why do we want to make life easier for lawyers? Well we do not necessarily but it again improves the access to the judicial system and the access to justice. So now I think you can get a little glimmer of the excitement that we are beginning to feel over on this side of the House. It is going to be an interesting process because I do not know and I suspect that none of the other members of the Justice and Electoral Committee know just how we have the advice that we have. But what is the impact—the real impact—of revising consolidating and modernising these statutes? What impact will that have on the justice system in New Zealand? I suspect we are going to see an improvement. It is a large body of work but we are up for it.Just continuing my theme on the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) there is also some excellent work going on by the Parliamentary Counsel Office in building capability and training within the Pacific Islands. The PCO is providing drafting assistance in parliaments all around the Pacific. It is providing training it is providing experience and it is providing mentoring to officials responsible for drafting legislation in the Pacific Island nations. The work that this involves occurs in the Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau but it also covers other areas when resources permit. This is an excellent form of foreign aid that our own PCO is able to provide into those Realm countries and those neighbouring parliaments. Again the expertise of our Parliamentary Counsel Office provides each and every one of those who sit on our committee with expert advice in the drafting of bills. The benefit of that is going to be felt even wider to the betterment of those parliaments in the Pacific. The Attorney-General in fact commended the PCO for its work in the Pacific. I think that another aspect is that it provides some form of consistency in lawmaking within the Pacific Islands and also New Zealand. This is increasingly important as we increase our relationship and the nature of our relationship with our Pacific Island neighbours.In the few minutes or seconds that I have left I also want to mention very briefly the New Zealand courts. I want to commend the Ministry of Justice for the excellent work that is going into the court system complex in Christchurch. It is utilising new technologies and is providing a more efficient better service for all those who have to access court services. We have not forgotten Christchurch after the Canterbury earthquakes 5 years ago. In fact not only have we not forgotten Christchurch but we are investing hugely—far more and above any other part of New Zealand. This National Government remembers Christchurch it is investing in Christchurch it values Christchurch and this investment in court services in Christchurch is a great example of that.Just a bit further down the road into my favourite patch of New Zealand I also want to commend the Ministry of Justice for its investment in the Ōāmaru courthouse which was vacated quite rightly as a result of the Canterbury earthquake events. It will now shortly be reopened as a modernised court and that again provides good access to justice for New Zealanders.