Talking Politics With Sam Uffindell Tauranga City MP

We need to get moving with Tauranga's new courthouse development.

It's crucial that we get on with it so we can deliver better justice outcomes and contribute to the uplift of Tauranga's CBD.

At present, the city's justice precinct faces significant constraints and is unable to deal with the huge volume of cases.

Since 2018, Tauranga District Court jury trials have doubled and Tauranga High Court jury trials have quadrupled. In 2021, then-Minister Faafoi announced over $150 million had been approved to build new courts here in Tauranga.

If built, it will increase the number of courtrooms, allowing cases to be heard here in Tauranga instead of being shifted to Rotorua. All this moving around puts considerable strain on our courts, victims, witnesses and everyone else involved. But instead of getting on with it, the government is dragging the chain, dodging questions, avoiding accountability and failing to deliver.

When announced, the new courthouse was expected to be completed by 2026. Fast forward two years, around $27 million has already been spent and we don't even have a business case. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Justice announced that the new Tauranga Courthouse is 'under review” due to inflation, a considerable amount of which is domestically driven (non-tradable). Tauranga is paying the price for this government's failure to control inflation.

I asked Justice Minister Kiri Allan when the new courthouse will proceed and whether it will be built as originally planned.

She wouldn't answer the questions directly, only stating that she's advised by the Ministry of Justice that she will receive the detailed business case by the end of this financial year. Given the financial year just started, we could be waiting until 31 March 2024 for that business case. From there it needs to go to Cabinet and from there an announcement. Completion by 2026 is looking about as likely as Auckland Light Rail by 2021.

There are very real fears that this government will significantly delay or downsize construction. The Minister is aware of delays but wouldn't state when construction would start and whether it will be built as originally planned without any downsizing.

Tauranga needs a properly functioning courthouse precinct. We need Justice Ministers who are actually focussed on delivering justice. Our system faces huge logjams and trials can take years to get to court. When that happens, the victims of crime lose and society is worse off. This government needs to focus on what actually drives better justice outcomes and improving the functioning of our court system would be a good place to start.

Let's get Tauranga's courthouse project moving and delivered as originally planned by 2026.