Peachey Allan: Justices of the Peace Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Peachey Allan: Justices of the Peace Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:638;Page:8649] 
ALLAN PEACHEY (National—Tamaki) 
: 
 It is a privilege to rise in the House this afternoon and speak on behalf of the National Party in support of the third reading of the Justices of the Peace Amendment Bill and also to pay my respects and those of the party I represent to the JPs throughout New Zealand. To be a justice of the peace is to be a servant of one’s community. It is to hold a position of respect and of trust. It is also to hold an office that has a long tradition of service and commitment. 
I listened with interest while Mr Barker went to some lengths to congratulate himself the Minister and the chairman of the Law and Order Committee on getting this bill to its third reading stage. I certainly offer Minister Cosgrove my compliments on the fine work that he has done and that Mr Gallagher as chairman of the committee has done. I also acknowledge the work of my colleagues on this side of the House for the positive and thoughtful approach they have taken in getting this legislation to its third reading stage. 
As the member of Parliament for Tamaki I know of the good work that the justices of the peace do in that electorate. In fact in my own electorate office one of the people I employ as an electorate agent is a justice of the peace. Not a day goes past without citizens coming in to seek his assistance and I have observed the need for tact for patience and for good judgment in carrying out that responsibility. That is what 10000 New Zealanders are doing day after day in serving their community. There is a view out there that the notion of serving one’s community is maybe not as strong as it used to be but I believe this House can take great confidence in the knowledge that there are still good New Zealanders both men and women who are only too willing to take on this sort of responsibility and to take it on for the right reason: to be of service to their fellow citizens and to the community around them. 
When I was a secondary school principal the law changed and where youngsters lived and what their residential address was suddenly became very very important in determining where they could go to school and what their relationship was to other students who had been at the school or were at the school. I was very conscious that around July and August of each year I found myself unleashing on the JP population of the community 700 to 800 youngsters who desperately needed to get their documents their address and that sort of thing attested as being correct information. It really brought home to me just how hard our JPs work and often at the most inconvenient of times as well. I well remember year after year parents desperately contacting me—because applications for enrolment closed at 4 o’clock and at 3 o’clock they still did not have their enrolment papers in—asking me to please tell them who could attest to the accuracy of their information. I remember the willingness of JPs in the community to step up and do that job. 
One of the most interesting jobs electorate MPs have is to nominate potential JPs and I like all members of this House take that responsibility very very seriously. Like all members I have had people approach me or nominated to me as potential JPs who I have felt would not be suitable. I like other members do not shrink from that responsibility. We have to do it right; it is important that we do it right. I take a lot of comfort now from the provision in this bill for training for new JPs because that gives us a backstop and gives us the confidence that we are getting it right that we are making good nominations and—probably most important of all—that we are not putting people in situations they are not fully prepared for. 
The other aspect of the bill I will comment upon is the designation of “JP (retired)”. I think it is appropriate that after 10 years of good service to the community—unpaid and often unrecognised—JPs should be able to step back from that position if they choose to in the knowledge that the title of “JP (retired)” will follow them and that they will get the acknowledgment of the community they have served long after they have been active as a JP. 
I also want to say a word to those JPs who have approached me about the very demanding and time-consuming situation they find themselves in when they do court work. Some of those people have suggested to me that maybe this House should give consideration to whether that sort of work should be paid work. This bill does not address that; it is not its place to address it. Maybe at some future time the House might like to consider that. 
Having said that I would not like to lose sight of the importance of the voluntary and unpaid nature of this work and of the motivation that good New Zealanders bring not only to doing it but also to doing it well. In conclusion I am pleased to support the bill. I am honoured to be able to pay tribute to our JPs and to thank them for the great work they do for New Zealand.