Shanks Katrina: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Shanks Katrina: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Sitting date: 14 August 2012. Volume:682;Page:4308. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
8. 
KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
 to the  
Minister for Courts 
: What recent announcements has he made on the modernisation of our courts system? 
Hon CHESTER BORROWS (Minister for Courts) 
: 
 August has already seen two more worthwhile steps taken towards modernising our court system. From this month applications to challenge a fine can be made online and last week I announced changes to allow disputes tribunal applications to be made online. Last year there were almost 50000 of these two types of applications and they were all made in hard copy. Moving these two applications to the internet is long overdue and will save New Zealanders’ time and allow courts to offer a customer-friendly cost-effective service that Kiwis expect. 
Katrina Shanks 
: What other measures are already in place to make better use of new technology in the court system? 
Hon CHESTER BORROWS 
: These two are just the latest in a long line of improvements this Government has made to bring courts into the 21st century. For example we have introduced audiovisual links between courts and prisons for many criminal hearings saving money and improving public safety and we are just getting started with audiovisual links. We have moved to a national model for collecting fines which has already cut overdue fines from 48 percent to 44 percent. And we are well on the way to delivering the electronic operating model to courts which will remove 93000 hours per year of needless paperwork from our justice system and allow them to be reallocated to more proactive work. 
Charles Chauvel 
: Can the Minister confirm that in his coming announcement on permanent courthouse closures officials have advised him to include the Opotiki Upper Hutt Feilding Rangiora and Balclutha courthouses in the list of courthouses to be permanently closed? 
Hon CHESTER BORROWS 
: No decisions have been made in respect of the review of court services around New Zealand. We are aware for instance that there have been courts closed obviously for seismic risk. We are grateful for the help and the way that those local communities have responded to those closures. We are expecting to make further announcements before the end of the year as to what shape the new courts model will be in. 
Charles Chauvel 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I very carefully worded my question— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I think I can save some time. The member asked whether the Minister had received advice on the closure of certain courts and the Minister in his answer made no reference to advice. He said no decisions had been made but the question did not ask whether any decisions had been made. It asked whether the Minister had received advice in respect of those courts. 
Hon CHESTER BORROWS 
: I have received advice in respect of court services around New Zealand. That advice has related to a number of courts including the courts that were named by the member but no decisions have been made yet and I am not in a position to progress that further.