Justice system backlog at “acute pinch point”
Court delays exacerbated by the pandemic are acutely impacting everyone involved. It’s a global issue and a new investigation in the US has found a connection between delays and rising crime rates.
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, July 29, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: ACC birth injury bill passes second reading; Ashley Bloomfield reveals his press conference prep; pay transparency as solution to pay equity issues; but first, the impact of the justice system backlog.
Justice system backlog is at an acute pinch point (Image: Getty)
At an acute pinch point
“Justice delayed is justice denied” is a legal maxim that means if legal redress is available but not delivered in a timely fashion, it is the same as no justice at all. Victim Support spokesperson Dr Petrina Hargrave has issued a warning that the current backlog in New Zealand courts is putting victims at risk. Hargrave says that victims have considered backing out of cases because of the toll delays will take. Speaking on RNZ’s The Panel yesterday, Chris Macklin, convenor of the criminal law committee for the New Zealand Law Society, said the society is concerned about everyone involved in the justice system at the moment. “We’re really at an acute pinch point,” he said. “There will be instances where judges decide a fair trial can no longer occur because of the delays.”
Retiring judge says backlog “concerns him greatly”
By convention, judges are prevented from speaking on political matters but will occasionally make a reserved nod to an issue when they step down from the bench. In Northland, judge-alone and jury trials are now being scheduled out to 2024, and recently retired executive judge for the area, John McDonald, said it “concerns him greatly” and that “it is not fair on defendants or complainants”. He judiciously expressed confidence in the officials in the chief district court's office in Wellington to “get on top of it”.
Pandemic exacerbates pre-existing problems
Ministry of Justice figures show that between July 2020 and June 2021, 42% of sentencing hearings didn’t go ahead as scheduled and 84% of judge-alone trials weren’t heard on the day set down. Covid-related delays in the environment court are putting the brakes on the Port of Tauranga getting permission to extend its wharves. But the pandemic has simply exacerbated pre-existing backlogs within the courts. Funding was allocated in 2019 for new district court judges in recognition of the increasing workload in those courts back then. Delays in the family court were documented in a 2019 report and funding has just been allocated to create new roles to try and alleviate them.
The connection between delayed justice and an increase in violent crime
ProPublica co-published this long read with The Atlantic recently. It looks at the different approaches taken to Covid-related shutdowns by courts in two towns in the US. Violent crime has surged in the US and while criminologists offer a range of explanations, many people who work in criminal justice have zeroed in on the extended shutdown of the court system as the reason. Working off the idea that it’s not the severity of repercussions but the speed at which they’re delivered that acts as a deterrent to crime, court shutdowns undermine the promise that crimes will be promptly punished. It’s one of the most interesting things I’ve read about justice and crime in a long time and may very well be relevant to New Zealand. I highly recommend it.
Gilbert & George: The Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Exhibition 2022
Over a career spanning more than 50 years, the eye-catching iconoclasm and unapologetic boundary-pushing of Gilbert & George has assured their place in the British art canon.With their first major local exhibition now showing at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, writer Chloe Lane examined the show, its works and how it reflects both the contemporary focus and the truly unique legacy of this inimitable pair. Read the story on The Spinoff now, and book tickets to the show here. (Sponsored)
Expansion of ACC cover of birth injuries
A bill that will increase the number of birth injuries covered by ACC from six to 12 has passed its second reading. The National, Green, and ACT parties all supported the bill in its second reading. ACC minister Carmel Sepuloni said ACC now expects to support 28,000 women per year to access the support they need for birth injuries, 10,000 more than initially estimated. I think it’s worth mentioning the excellent reporting by RNZ’s Anusha Bradley on this issue over the last year or so. Bradley first reported on a policy change from ACC that reduced the number of claims being approved for perineal tears from about 30 a month to less than four in March 2021.
“I had moments where I realised I was at the limits of my resilience”
The Spinoff’s Stewart Sowman-Lund spoke to Ashley Bloomfield early yesterday morning. Early morning starts are nothing new for the outgoing director general of health, who revealed to Sowman-Lund that he woke up very early, stressed, with butterflies on the days where he had to front a press conference. They discuss whether he’s sad to leave the role, coping with burnout, how he felt about his celebrity status and what he did to cope with the stress of the job.
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Could full transparency solve our pay equity problems?
Imagine living in a society where details about everyone’s earnings and taxes are publicly available. With a gender pay gap of just 4%, Norway has operated under this system of pay transparency since the 1800s and some argue it’s time for a similar approach in Aotearoa. On the latest episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks to AUT professor Gail Pacheco, who heads the NZ Work Research Institute, about whether pay transparency is the answer to help address our pay equity gaps for women, Māori, and Pasifika.
Click and collect
Minister receives review into Working for Families but campaigners are concerned it’s not focused on alleviating poverty.
Announcement on initiative to "get more boots on the ground" (paywalled) in public mental health services due today.
Secrecy clauses in 20 pieces of new legislation passed since 2019.
Improving artist wages a priority for government.
Owner refuses $300m clean-up of mothballed Marsden Point.
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz
If you liked what you read today, share The Bulletin with friends, family and colleagues.
Zero percent highland malt, anyone? Alex Casey convenes a Spinoff blind taste-test of alcohol-free spirits to find out which are worth a tipple and which are unfortunately unfit for human consumption. Duncan Greive wonders how a banal political non-story became a full-blown inquisition on Morning Report this week. Naomii Seah explains how medical bias works using a recent New Zealand study. Melody May writes about the disdain for masks and the privilege of a healthy body.
The Spinoff is hiring
Interested in politics? Have experience in media? The Spinoff will soon be launching our local elections project and we’re looking for an editor to oversee coverage throughout the campaign, starting asap. For more information or to express your interest, email jobs@thespinoff.co.nz
Let the Games begin
The 22nd Commonwealth Games kick off this morning. Stuff has the schedule of the New Zealand athletes competing today but we’ve got bowls, gymnastics, hockey, sevens, boxing, swimming, cycling and triathlon to watch. If the Guardian’s live blog of the Queen’s Jubilee concert was anything to go by, the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony one should be worth following if you’re watching the opening ceremony on Prime this morning. So far we’ve met the official mascot, Perry the bull.
It’s Friday so…
“Man fleeing Wiltshire crash scene attacked by emus”. Do I need to say more? I heard Kathryn Ryan discussing this yesterday morning with UK correspondent Matthew Parris. I wasn’t sure we were going to top the moderator fainting at a televised debate between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, who are both running to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister. Then Ryan and her guest started talking about the emus who attacked a drunk man trying to flee the scene of an accident in the historic and ceremonial county of Wiltshire in England. EMU is also the acronym for the European Economic and Monetary Union which the UK fled in 2020 following Brexit. There may, or may not be emu feathers woven into the Downing St kitchen cabinets. Rule Britannia.
