Borrows Chester: Judicature Modernisation Bill — First ReadingText is subject to correctionBorrows Chester: Judicature Modernisation Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 05 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15312. Text is subject to correction.]Hon CHESTER BORROWS (Minister for Courts): I wish to take a short call in support of the Judicature Modernisation Bill. I want to endorse the comments of my cousin Chris Finlayson in endorsing the work of the Minister of Justice in respect of the hard work that she has done on pulling this bill together but also acknowledge the work that he himself has done.As someone who has come to the law fairly late I do not get my buttons pushed by the weird and strange things that those addicted to the law and judicature do. But what I am pleased to talk about are some changes that have been made more recently where we have made the most significant changes to criminal procedure in 50 years. These took effect in July and they were well supported across the House. It is expected that they will remove 30000 unnecessary court events each year and save about 10000 sitting hours. A number of new experiences are involved here with the filing online of a number of actions before the courts. Police will now file their 200000-plus criminal charges a year electronically instead of using paper files.I want to just quickly focus on two particular aspects of this bill and how they enhance our modernisation programme. The Government has moved to take advantage of the huge benefits of video links—audiovisual links—and a number of appearances before the courts now occur by audiovisual link saving the Department of Corrections the police and the courts time and money and it improves safety. Even the prisoners themselves enjoy the prospect of being able to stay involved in the programme in the place where they are imprisoned rather than having to travel in a prison van sometimes for several hours and sit in a cell in somewhere they are scared of or just do not like for a 10-minute appearance before repeating the whole process in going back to prison later on. Earlier this year the Minister of Corrections Anne Tolley and I announced a $27.8 million expansion to audiovisual links in 14 more courts and nine more prisons. The first of the new courts is due to come online next week.The second change I want to focus on is moving to a single unified District Court. Previously our District Courts were 59 individual registries. Each operated in its own little world in its own little fiefdom. In a modern New Zealand where you can wake up in Invercargill make it to Wellington for afternoon tea and then get to Kaitāia by dinner time it all seems nuts not to have one court that covers the whole registry of New Zealand. Making good use of our court resources is an essential challenge for our court system. No one benefits when a courtroom sits empty.I want to finish by saying that the changes and provisions within the Judicature Modernisation Bill will make the use of our courts easier for those who are engaged in them as professionals as members of the judiciary or as members of the public who have to appear—probably not by choice—as a witness or as a defendant. An open free and transparent justice system is what we are all aiming for. This bill will make it an awful lot simpler and easier to achieve. Thank you.