Dr Richard Worth National Party Justice Spokesman

7 April 2005

Attorney-General mis-hits on judicial appointments

National’s Justice spokesman, Richard Worth, says there were always going to be difficulties when Michael Cullen was appointed Attorney-General because of his lack of understanding of the issues confronting the legal system.

“The appointment of two new District Court Judges simply avoids the need to deal with systemic issues in the structure of the courts.

“When the Law Commission published its report ‘Delivering Justice for All’ with wide-ranging proposals for reform, Labour’s response was that ‘it would focus on systemic initiatives to improve the system’ and was ‘currently undertaking a review of its baseline funding’.

“Those were fine words, but Labour is not dealing with the problems but is patching the fabric of the courts with more judges.

“We already have more judges than we need. What is required are management changes in the way the courts do business, including simplification of processes,” Dr Worth says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media