Flavell: Justice of the Peace Amendment Bill
te-pati-maori
Thu Apr 05 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Flavell: Justice of the Peace Amendment Bill
Thursday, 5 April 2007, 9:53 am
Speech: The Maori Party
Justice of the Peace Amendment Bill; Third Reading
Te Ururoa Flavell; Member of Parliament for Waiariki
Wednesday 4 April 2007
Yesterday, this Parliament was shell-shocked by the release of a report which Members variously described as:
* a blot on the law-and-order landscape;
* the undermining of one of our key pillars of society;
* a red flag day which signalled the urgent need to restore and rehabilitate the nature of the justice system in Aotearoa.
We learnt about disgraceful sexual conduct; we learnt about a culture of scepticism, we learnt about a wall of silence which protected police officers from complaints laid against them.
And at the end of the day the Government promised a major overhaul of the policing system.
But of course the operation of an effective justice system is not just a responsibility of Nga Pirihimana o Aotearoa. The attainment of due access to justice is a worthy goal that we can all play a part in achieving.
And so we come to this Justices Amendment Bill, a Bill which targets the training, discipline and retirement of Justices of the Peace, and ask the question – how can the appointments and ongoing professional development of JPs serve to restore community vitality?
I need to remind the House here, that Justices of the Peace have particular and unique skills which lead them well into taking on leadership at a community and national level.
I was thinking about some of the outstanding Maori leaders in my area who have taken up the roles of JPs. There’s:
* Karauria and Hanahira Anaru, of Ohinemutu; both appointed JPs in the 1940s;
* Monita Delamere, Ringatu leader from Kawerau;
* Henry Taiporutu Te Mapu-o-te-Rangi Mitchell; Ngati Pikiao leader,
* Pirimi Tahiwi of Ngati Whakaue and Ngati Raukawa;
* and Rachael Ngeungeu Te Irirangi Zister, Ngai Tai and Ngati Paoa woman.
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There is also an amazingly rich range of tangata whenua talent who have served as JPs across the nation, including
* some distinguished former Members of Parliament, including Eruera Tirikatene; Ben Couch and local politician Sir Ralph Love;
* Maui Pomare, was the first Maori President of the Royal Federation of NZ Justices in 1989
* A former Maori language commissioner, Sir Kingi Ihaka;
* Ngati Hine leader, Te Riri Kawiti; and
* Ngapuhi leader, Hone Heke Rankin; just to name a few.
So there is no denying that the position of the Justice of Peace attracts some of our finest individuals; people who are well able to carry out the legal obligations and responsibilities appropriate to public office.
Madam Speaker, these are outstanding members of our community, persons respected for their common sense, their good sense, their character and their integrity.
So the question is, how can this extremely able pool of people, be used to restore peace; to enhance justice; and to improve wellbeing across our communities?
Well, the Maori Party is always looking for new ideas which can be useful to this nation to adopt. We have found just a couple of concepts which we want to share in the context of the Justices of the Peace Amendment Bill.
Whilst this Bill is specifically focused on training, discipline and retirement; such aspects come within the framework of professional development. We must make explicit the close connection between professionalism and cultural competency, and I will draw on a couple of international examples to show how this can be done.
We make these suggestions with some trepidation I might say as we are aware that new ideas, and the application of those ideas, are a danger to this Government. This Government of the Superficial, their fear of moving from a narrow ethno-centric view of the nation was demonstrated last night, when a rarely used mechanism of the financial veto was called on to ensure that any serious attempts to give substance to Treaty education in immigration would not occur. And where were the Labour Maori Caucus while the Treaty was being voted on – or at least vetoed? Nowhere to be seen.
But we remain eternally optimistic, and so today is a new day – and we hope that the ideas that we put forward may be useful in enhancing the service provided by the Justices of the Peace.
To the Minister, in Canada, the Criminal Justice System has since 2000, implemented a range of aboriginal justice strategies across the country. These include:
* Increased appointment of Aboriginal justices of the peace;
* Establishment of Aboriginal Justice of the Peace Courts under the Indian Act;
* Cross-cultural education of non-Aboriginal workers; and
* Incorporation of Aboriginal processes such as elders panels and sentencing circles.
So what would these native justices of the peace do?
Before I talk about this, let me apologise to the tribal nations represented, for any mispronunciation.
The Nunavut Court of Justice recognises that the majority of Nunavut are Inuit, and speak Inuktitut as their mother tongue in an initiative called the Circuit Court. The Circuit Court travels to 85% of the communities across the territory; holding court in community halls, school gyms and local venues.
In these Courts, Madam Speaker, elders and Justices of the Peace sit with the Judge in the Courtroom, and are given the opportunity to speak with the accused prior to the passing of sentence.
In Ontario, Aboriginal Judicial decision makers have been recruited, trained, appointed and supported by the Attorney General. There are currently 21 active Native Justices of the Peace which take part in local legal education, in mock trials; and in bearing the first face of the judicial system to their public.
Across the Tasman, indigenous sentencing and Circle Courts are a key component of the justice system procedures including the Nunga and Aboriginal Courts in South Australia; the Koori Courts in Victoria; the Murri and Rockhampton Courts in Queensland and Circle Sentencing in New South Wales.
So across these developments, Madam Speaker, Aboriginal Justice Officers may take an active role in assisting the prosecutor, offender and defence counsel to devise an appropriate sentence plan – or they may not speak at all during the hearing, but are active behind the scenes.
Madam Speaker, indigenous courts, circles and other justice practices, are all examples of initiatives which have been developed by and alongside indigenous communities, for the benefit of the whole community. In particular, the indigenous community itself becomes influential in helping to make the new justice practices meaningful and effective in their communities.
So while we here in Aotearoa are way ahead in some indigenous issues, we seem to be scared to give tangata whenua a shot in using our own projects to achieve outcomes. It would be awesome if we could follow the lead of our indigenous brothers and sisters across the seas.
In particular a key competency across all these practices is that of the improved communication between the offender, the Justice of the Peace and other relevant peoples.
The skills required are about learning about the offender – learning about the offence – and then developing an appropriate response.
The duties that we expect our Justices of the Peace in Aotearoa to take up include:
* Witnessing documents; taking declarations; certifying copies;
* Issuing search warrants; hearing summary offences; hearing bail applications and request for remands;
* Presiding over preliminary hearings and conducting traffic courts.
These are all duties and responsibilities where excellent communication skills; sensitivity and understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural protocols; and creativity could help to make a major difference in the movement towards a more peaceful community.
Madam Speaker, I have referred to individual Maori leaders; and to international indigenous initiatives, to assist the Minister in considering new approaches to support JPs in performing their key functions.
I am sure that Dr Sharples – along with his other JP peers in this House – Mark Blumsky, Assistant Speaker, Ann Hartley, Hon George Hawkins and Lindsay Tisch – would greatly appreciate an opportunity to assist the Minister also, in their feedback about the current standing and requirements for the Justice of the Peace role.
The important thing is that we do not sit still, and automatically assume that the fact that JPs are in a position of trust would suggest that such confidence is warranted.
We know better than that – following the evidence from yesterday’s damning police report.
Madam Speaker, we believe this nation is at a critical cross roads in the interface between the criminal justice sector and the community. We can either ignore the community at our peril; or we can work, together, in restoring a new sense of public confidence in the key justice agencies.
The Maori Party has suggested throughout the course of this Bill, that training for Justices of the Peace might also include understanding of cultural safety; education around Te Tiriti o Waitangi; and some basic information on tikanga, te reo Maori and particularly, pronunciation of people’s names.
We have concluded our comments in this third reading, by also drawing on our indigenous counterparts as providing us with other models which could be used to improve the JP service; to uphold accountability and cultural safety; and to move the nation forward towards achieving a new standard of justice.
ENDS
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