The Dargaville community intends to "stand up and protest like hell" against the Government's decision to make Dargaville District Court a hearing only facility.
At a recent public meeting hosted by Kaipara Grey Power, Judicial JP Eric Smitten called the Government's attitude a "fait accompli" saying he was also concerned by the response from Northland MP Mike Sabin to his query on the lack of public of consultation. In a letter Mr Sabin said, since the matter was "administrative and not substantive, full consultation with the public is not necessary."
"If I was a cynic I would say this was just the first step to full closure," said Mr Smitten.
A Dargaville lawyer believes the Government has used "half baked statistics to draw its own conclusions" on the functional use of the Dargaville Court House.
Darrell Hart says the Government had shown little understanding of the unique demographics of the area or acknowledgment the "Centralisation of judicial services elsewhere has not been successful."