Close to 100 people attended in person (and the same number attended online) an event in Auckland on Tuesday 14 May 2024 where NZ Asian Lawyers and the New Zealand Law Society jointly hosted the Minister of Justice, Minister of Treaty Negotiations, Minister of SOEs, Minister of Media and Communications and the Arts, the Hon Paul Goldsmith.
After giving a brief statement of his Government’s priorities with respect to the Justice sector, the Minister engaged in a lively question and answer session with Mai Chen, President of NZ Asian Lawyers, where they covered a wide range of topics within the Minister’s portfolios of Justice, SOEs, Treaty Negotiations and Media. The topics discussed included the state of the courthouses, the lengthy delays in resolving criminal and civil matters, the modernisation of the hearings and judicial process, the funding of proceedings under the Marine and Coastal Area Act, further Treaty law reform and the future of the media. The Minister displayed a real desire to engage with the profession and to make a better difference on the big issues in the Justice portofolio.
Frazer Barton, president of the New Zealand Law Society, provided a summary of the issues that were raised with him when he held a series of 24 hui round the country with practitioners and not surprisingly, they were not dissimilar to those broached in the question and answer session with the Minister. Practitioners also raised wellbeing and burnout as a major issue and experienced lawyers leaving the profession.
Members of the audience had the opportunity to ask the Minister questions before the event wrapped up. The Minister stayed to mingle with attendees.
