Justice Minister Phil Goff wants judges to stop giving routine name suppression to offenders on the police diversion scheme.
Dismissing normal police practice and the habit of the Auckland District Court, Mr Goff said last night that there should be no special right of protection for people on diversion.
His comments back a ruling by High Court Justice Bruce Robertson which challenged a longstanding police assumption that diversion cases should remain confidential.
Mr Goff echoed the judge's view that if Parliament had intended name suppression to apply, then it would have included that in legislation. "Broadly, I would support the judgment ... and support the basic proposition that what goes on in the courts is done in public.
"The practice of the Auckland District Court in routinely suppressing the names of those getting diversion in my view does not have support in law." Mr Goff said the Ministry of Justice would draw the judgment to the attention of the Chief District Court Judge and ask him to take "appropriate action."
The scheme allows selected first-time offenders on minor charges to make reparation and apologise to victims without having a conviction entered against their name.
Mr Goff said he supported the idea that such people should have a clean slate, but that should not imply entitlement to suppression.
"Name suppression should be used rarely and only in circumstances that mark the situation of the offender out and where there are greater considerations.
"As soon as you start to tamper with that rule, and decide that you will suppress something, you run into the danger of really undermining a fundamental principle that justice is something that is done in public."
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