Nearly $40m for court improvements in budget

The Government today announced $39 million to build and upgrade five courts around the country -- but there are several others of poor standard that will have to wait.

Courts Minister Rick Barker said about half of New Zealand's 72 courts were aged 50-years or older and one quarter were over 100-years-old.

Today he announced $17.5 million for land to be bought for a court in New Plymouth and for new courts in Invercargill and Levin. Mr Barker said the 100-year-old Levin court was like a "dolls house" and the dock was in arms-reach of the judge.

The remaining $21.5 million would go to overhauling and expanding Hastings Court and the expansion of Manukau District Court.

Mr Barker said Manukau was being expanded to make two new large multi-defendant court rooms for High Court and District Court trials.

"Manukau is a new court, but anyone who has been to Manukau court while it's been in operation can tell you that building is severely stressed. There are simply too many people, too little space, too much activity and the staff areas are bluntly unacceptable."

Staff had been working in closed-off corridors and meeting rooms.

The funding is part of a 10-year capital works programme to improve court buildings; courts in Greymouth, Queenstown and Whangarei have recently been improved or got funding for work.

"This is a very important catch up step," Mr Barker told reporters.

"There are other court houses that need to be done, we simply don't have the resources or the capacity to undertake improvements at any greater rate."

Another court Mr Barker said was unsatisfactory was Timaru, which was built in 1877 and had not significantly changed over the years.

There were several courts that had not changed to reflect population growth and expanded services such as family, youth courts and tribunals.

All new and upgraded courts will have improved security -- one main measure would be installing a single main entrance way with a metal detector and search area.

There would also be separate waiting areas for witnesses and defendants and security cameras.

"There's been a number of security breaches at court recently and I am sure the new security measures will greatly improve the courts' ability to manage security incidents," Mr Barker said.

Prisoners would also have more secure entrances -- at Blenheim and Timaru courts prisoners are escorted through a public waiting area.

The measures do not address break-outs.

"We'll certainly be looking at how to minimise those events, having said that I don't know that there's any place yet that people haven't been able to break out of if they want to."

There would be more announcements relating to courts in the upcoming budget.

"This is a substantial amount of new work that is going to be done on courts, it's not the only part either."

- NZPA