Collins Judith: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Collins Judith: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 01 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:1794. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 Can I take a moment to thank the member who has just resumed his seat Tim Macindoe for the splendid chairing role that he is undertaking as the chair of the Justice and Electoral Committee. I know that his whole team on the committee is working very hard and I acknowledge all members of the committee because I know that they are doing their very best to undertake their duties with professionalism which is what we would all like to see from all members of the House.  
I need to record here that recorded crime for the 2010-11 fiscal year was a 7 percent fall on the year before 2009-10. The recorded crime rate in 2010 was 9761 per 100000 population the lowest it has been since 1982 and 25 percent lower than its peak in 1992. What we are seeing is a drop in crime that has not been seen at that level since the 1930s. We have prosecution levels in 2010 that were 13 percent lower than in 2009 and that is after they had grown and peaked in 2009 having grown by 25 percent over the previous 15 years. What we are seeing is that the Government’s policies the Acts that this Government has brought through are actually having a huge effect and so too is an attitude that actually crime should not pay that we do stand up for the victims of crime that we do stand up for law and order that we do support the police the Department of Corrections that we do support our court staff the ministry the judges that we get on and we support them and we do not give in to criminals.  
I actually think one of the best things that I can think of in my time in Parliament is what has happened to the crime rate. Of course the crime rate is not just about numbers; it is actually mostly about people and by people I mean victims of crime. When we have less crime we have fewer victims and that is something we should all be very pleased about. What that does mean too is that we have opportunities in the justice system to look at more innovative ways in which we deal not only with crime but in other areas of the court system such as the family courts and other courts to look at how we can do things better and more efficiently and how we can use new technologies. Certainly the audiovisual links that we have introduced in the last few years between corrections and the courts has meant that that has been a huge savings to corrections but it has also taken away a real source of danger for the public.  
We are looking at how we can use technology better how we can look at having an accessible justice system so that members of the public can for instance file their documents online or their lawyers can file documents online at any hour of the day or night and how they can access their own files in a way that is user-friendly. Judges and staff will not have to haul around great big thick paper files that they have at the moment. Things get lost and put in wrong files. We are looking at bringing in an electronic operating model that works well not only for the judiciary but actually for the lawyers and for those people who use the courts.  
None of this should be too much news for people because it is the sort of business operation that businesses undertake and have done for years now. It is important I think for instance that we look at how we use the very valuable dollars that we use in the justice system and that is actually looking at for instance whether we should have lawyers waiting around and waiting around and waiting around for cases to come up for trial when for instance a text message to the lawyer from the court staff would tell them when it is on so that they are not wasting their time and therefore wasting money either on legal aid or through their client.  
So there are ways that we can look at doing that. But that actually requires a really steep learning curve for a lot of people involved in the justice system and that is about working together. I have found that when I have talked to the judiciary and with lawyers that they are particularly keen to do that. They want to work with the police and corrections and the court system so that they can in fact get better outcomes for everyone involved. Better outcomes mean a quicker fairer trial. It means people being able to access the justice system without huge cost. But it also means that those matters that come into the court system are dealt with fairly and according to the law. I think it is also worth noting that we are very fortunate in New Zealand that we have a judiciary that is truly independent and free of corruption that we have a police force that is in a similar situation and we are very lucky in this country. I do sometimes despair at the odd media reports screaming headlines about these things. We do not give enough credit to those people who play their part in the justice system. We are very fortunate indeed. 
Report noted.