Rotorua District Court and High Court building. Photo / File
Rotorua District Court and High Court building. Photo / File
The Rotorua courthouse needed new repairs this week just days after the Government copped criticism for neglecting the facilities.
The Ministry of Justice started planning an upgrade to the buildings in 2017, and construction was due to start more than a year ago.
Concept plans for a four-year, $85 millionto $110m overhaul of the district court and High Court, and neighbouring Hauora House where the Māori Land Court operates, were being finalised in May this year but the Rotorua Daily Post reported last week the Ministry of Justice was still considering a total rebuild from scratch.
Documents released under the Official Information Act showed Hauora House's fire protection, plumbing and electrical systems did not meet the current building code.
It "narrowly avoids being classified as an earthquake-prone building" and is "one of the most under-invested buildings in the ministry property portfolio", a report stated.
The report also said the district court and High Courts next door were among the busiest in the country, but "the ongoing health, safety and security risk is not acceptable to the ministry".
In the days after the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend's exclusive report last week, "exceptionally heavy rainfall" caused "a leak in the Family Court entranceway", the Ministry of Justice's commercial and property manager Fraser Gibbs confirmed.
"This has now been addressed," he said in a statement this week.
Ministry of Justice commerical and property manager Fraser Gibbs. Photo / File
Leaks in the family court entranceway have been a problem for years, as have others in "a judicial space" but Gibbs said, "reactive repairs" were "always" done.
He also confirmed Rotorua was one of two New Zealand courthouses "with identified weathertightness issues" that require contractors to come in and assess black mould and air quality, monthly.
The other is the Tauranga courthouse, which is getting a $100m redesign and rebuild, announced last year.
Gibbs said at the Rotorua facilities the "installation of systems to support building operations had penetrated the roof, resulting in leaks and mould developed in contained areas".
"This was repaired, the mould was treated, and affected areas fully remediated. As a precautionary measure, the air quality continues to be monitored."
When asked why work to upgrade the ministry's Rotorua facilities had not yet started, Gibbs said the ministry was "still in the early stages of planning" what the requirements would be.
"This will help us decide if a new site is needed or we can use the existing site," he said.
May 2020 concept image of Rotorua courthouse refurbishment. Photo / File
"We must prioritise funding across our large property portfolio – one of the largest in the public sector with 97 buildings across 58 towns and cities."
Despite the delays, Gibbs said the ministry took the health and safety of its staff, the judiciary and all court participants "seriously".
The ministry's current Rotorua site lease is signed to continue for more than 30 years from now.
Gibbs said the cost to exit the current lease was commercially sensitive.
By May, more than $2m had already been spent on scoping work and initial design for a refurbishment at the current site, but Gibbs said: "a lot ... could be reused on a new build if that were to go ahead".
"The project must be allocated the resources it needs to make it happen as soon as possible"
"The justice system should be safe and accessible for both staff and the public."
