Concerns growing over the future of Waitakere Family Court

There are deep and growing concerns that the shifting of court work from Waitakere City into central Auckland will prove a barrier to justice for many people living in the west, says Rick Barker, Labour’s Courts spokesperson.

“Transferring Family Court cases to central Auckland making Justice remote will cause unnecessary stress for individuals seeking justice. When considering making Auckland a single city, people didn’t think this was going to be done to the Justice system too. If Waitakere is too small for its own Family Court where will be large enough and what is the future of other Family Courts?” Rick Barker said.

Waitakere Labour candidate and list MP Carmel Sepuloni says: “Court situations are often very stressful anyway, and having to travel further away is an unnecessary burden for the Waitakere community, particularly when their local Family Court has been one of the most efficient in the country.

"Family Court hearings can be traumatic experiences and the added stress and difficulty can only make this worse."

Carmel Sepuloni said that in 2010 the Waitakere Family Court processed 5341 applications with one full time judge, and in the same time the Auckland courts managed around 6650 applications.

“If efficiency is what the Government is looking for perhaps it should look more closely at some of the numbers,” Carmel Sepuloni says

“A lot of the local knowledge and community relationships that exist within the Waitakere Family Court will be strained if services are crammed into Auckland city.

“Community organisations rely on these existing relationships to deliver customised support to individuals and families in the court system, and while Labour supports efficient running of the courts this should never be at the expense of access to justice,” Carmel Sepuloni says.

“The Minister needs to think very carefully about the direction of this review especially if the outcome means unnecessary strain on Waitakere’s already well-functioning court and the sacrifice of community support for individuals and families in the court system.”

Rick Barker says “Court Services should be provided in the local community, Waitakere has a good court, it’s functioning well, and the relocation into the centre of Auckland will simply make justice remote. This will be to the detriment of the community and individuals who seek the services of the court.”