Crackdown to begin for overdue court fines and reparation

The Acting Minister for Courts, Simon Power, today welcomed the passing of legislation that strengthens the enforcement of fines, reparation, and civil debt.

The omnibus Courts and Criminal Matters Bill amends 20 statutes and is the most comprehensive reform of court-ordered monetary penalties in more than a decade.

“The bill will ensure that reparation owed to victims is paid as a priority and that offenders who refuse to pay it are held to account,” Mr Power said.

Significant measures in the bill include:

• Enabling the Ministry of Justice to pass details on overdue fines and reparations to the credit industry, which may affect a person’s ability to secure future loans. In return, the Ministry will be able to use the credit industry’s updated address and other information for fines enforcement.
• Giving courts priority over secured creditors to collect overdue fines and reparation when seized goods are sold.
• Enabling the suspension of driver licences for overdue traffic fines and reparation.
• Enabling courts, in certain circumstances, to re-sentence a person who has not complied with a sentence or order of reparation, drawing on the full range of alternative sentences available for the original offence, such as home detention or prison.
• Clarifying that the payment of reparation has priority over the payment of fines.
• Making it easier to set up an attachment order to deduct outstanding civil debts from a person’s salary, wage, or benefit.

Mr Power said that at the end of June there was $666.5 million of court-ordered fines and reparation outstanding.

“Although this is $112 million less than when the bill was introduced nearly 15 months ago, it’s clear that the bill is needed to ensure fines remain a credible penalty for breaking the law.

“I’m confident the new enforcement tools in this bill will compel those who choose to ignore their fines and reparation to pay up.

“The bill also modernises the collection of fines and reparation and will improve civil debt enforcement processes.”

He acknowledged the work done by Courts Minister Georgina te Heuheu in ushering the bill through to its final reading.