Bailiff reshuffle looms

Masterton's bailiffs may end up operating out of Lower Hutt as part of a national reshuffle of court collection services.
The potential move is part of a Ministry of Justice proposal to "centralise" bailiff operations from Masterton and Queenstown to the nearby cities of Lower Hutt and Invercargill respectively, and was mooted in a discussion document circulated to staff on November 3.
The ministry's collections general manager, Bryre Patchell, said the new service would "allow greater flexibility and use of resources" if it went ahead, and would not affect current services out of Masterton District Court.
"The ministry is clear that all services available will continue to be provided in the areas they are provided at the moment - whether it be paying fines, accessing information, enforcing overdue fines, enforcing civil debts or serving court documents."
Currently, Masterton District Court has one registry officer, two bailiffs and one team leader - all working fulltime.
Mr Patchell said the overall number of bailiff positions would not decrease, but some bailiffs would be relocated "to better use resources and manage workloads" around the country.
But Richard Wagstaff, national secretary of the Public Service Association (PSA), said they were worried by the proposal.
"We're concerned of the impact on smaller communities that will lose local services and knowledge.
"That includes knowledge of dangerous locations and individuals, which could expose travelling bailiffs to more risks.
"It will also make services inefficient as bailiffs will have to travel long distances from centralised hubs."
Mr Wagstaff said centralisation made sense in the Auckland supercity but "the loss to smaller communities is too large".