Mayor puts rural New Zealand on notice: You could be stripped of access to justice without warning

Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton is warning rural New Zealand communities they could be the next to have their access to justice stripped without warning. Photo / Supplied

A mayor in rural Aotearoa is warning other small communities they could lose their access to justice without warning or consultation following the closure of a tiny wooden courthouse six months ago.

The Ohakune District Court hearing centre, which services the Ruapehu District, shut suddenly on September 16, 2022, leaving the district’s 13,000 residents, spread across an area of 6734 square kilometres, a long road to travel to get justice.

At the time Ministry of Justice acting chief operating officer Andrea King said the “temporary” closure was due to the risk level for operating courts exceeding the acceptable standard.

King said risks identified included substandard or non-compliant facilities, insufficient custodial facilities, the risk of injury and the estimated cost to upgrade the premises to a fit-for-purpose state was several million dollars.

Mystery still surrounds the future of the facility and the Ministry of Justice has repeatedly missed deadlines for requests about where the process is at.

Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton said retaining the facility was vital.

“The people are saying that they want it still in the core of our community so it addresses some of the social issues,” Kirton said.

“I think that the courts should revisit the whole saga and find a way to keep it in the community, whether that’s finding the money to fund the required upgrade or looking at other options to allow people continued access to justice.”

Kirton said he feared the closure would result in people being detained in custody when it was avoidable, due to a lack of public transport, ever-increasing fuel cost and inflation, and found it distressing to learn it began happening almost immediately the courthouse closed.

“It’s demeaning and unnecessary because the facilities have been dropped, I think we can do better.”

He said the Taumarunui Courthouse had been refurbished “at great cost”, but was increasingly unable to open due to a lack of staff.

Doors at the Ohakune District Court hearing centre, 6 Rata St, which serviced the Ruapehu District were shut without warning on September 16. Photo / Bevan Conley

The situation should serve as a warning to other rural New Zealand communities, which were the backbone of the country, Kirton said, and they could find themselves stripped of access to justice without warning.

“I’m very protective of rural New Zealand not getting our fair share; we are not getting a good deal with public transport and now the justice system.”

Whanganui lawyer Anna Brosnahan advised the ministry, mere months after the closure, the criminal defence bar was opposed to the move and the flow-on effects already being experienced.

“The main basis for this is the obvious issues that it will have in terms of access to justice for defendants, victims and their support people,” Brosnahan said in an email.

“When people are unable to access the court at Ohakune and subsequently arrested they are fronted at Whanganui District Court which is already under-resourced for judicial hearing time.”

Brosnahan went on to highlight the practical implications of moving cases to Taihape, a 112km round trip for those due to appear, which included 50 per cent of arrest cases heard the following day in Whanganui as a direct result of the closure.

One defendant, arrested on a warrant after failing to appear in Taihape due to having no way of getting there, was bailed after spending a night in custody but another had to spend six days behind bars, despite police not opposing bail, before being able to be released, she said.

“If the closure is permanent then these issues will be exacerbated.

“As it stands we have trouble getting matters before a judge within an acceptable time frame in Whanganui for bail applications. Adding Ohakune arrests into the equation means further delays in access to justice for both Whanganui and Ohakune defendants.”

Less than a month later a teenager, who could not get to Taihape for his appearance, was arrested and held in custody overnight to appear in Whanganui the following day, but then had to spend 18 days behind bars before a bail hearing in front of a judge could be arranged.

Brosnahan said in her view the consequences were not acceptable and if the Ohakune facility had been operating the defendants would not have been held in custody or detained.

“Ultimately my view is that the Ohakune Court needs to remain open to enable and facilitate access to justice.

“As yet I have not been made aware of any realistic default options that would work effectively or serve the Ohakune and surrounding communities.”

Barrister Jamie Waugh said he believed the closure was not going to be temporary and was already creating crucial issues for those in the low socio-economic community to access justice.

“It just goes dark essentially, there’s no courthouse there,” Waugh said.

Lawyer Richard Leith described the closure as disappointing.

“I think that in the interests of justice, we should continue to have a court in Ohakune,” Leith said.

An Official Information Act request made by NZME to the Ministry of Justice in mid-December, which has a 20 working day response time, has gone unanswered.

The OIA sought details contained in a report about the health, safety and security concerns which led to the closure, documents, from a “high-level investigation” detailing the estimated cost to upgrade the facility to be several million dollars and copies of high level correspondence regarding the closure.

NZME agreed to extend the deadline for the information from January 19 to 31, 2023, so the third part could be completed but requested the first two parts, which the ministry acknowledged would be available at the earlier date, be released if a further extension was required.

MOJ chief operating officer Carl Crafar said the consultation process had been completed and all feedback had been collated.

“The Ministry has sought views from judiciary, lawyers, sector partners, local iwi, the New Zealand Law Society and representatives of the local council as part of the consultation process,” Crafar said.

Concerns expressed by Kirton, Brosnahan and Waugh about travelling distance, access to justice, unnecessary remands in custody and the need for alternative arrangements were all raised during the dialogue, he said.

The additional strain the closure was putting on Whanganui’s resources was also discussed and the ministry was now working through its options for the future but there was no timeframe for a final decision, Crafar said.

“Community representatives, local iwi and other stakeholders are fully engaged with exploring these options with the ministry.”

He apologised for any confusion with regard to timeframes for releasing the OIA documents and said staff were working through them but again could not say when they would be made available.