New Zealand

Provides a listing of articles on restorative justice developments in New Zealand. Articles appear in the order in which they were added to the site with the most recent appearing first.

Treaty settlements process: Restorative justice in action

from the article on Te Puni Kokiri: The Treaty of Waitangi settlements process is restorative justice in action says Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples. Speaking at the launch of JustSpeak’s paper on Māori and the Criminal Justice System, he recalled the recent settlement of five Treaty of Waitangi claims.

Rena captain to residents: 'Sorry'

from the article by Kiri Gillespie in the Bay of Plenty Times: Rena's captain and navigational officer have visited Motiti Island to apologise to residents for grounding the cargo ship on Astrolabe Reef. When Rena grounded on October 5 last year, Motiti Island was transformed from a pristine green paradise to an oil-soaked mess. Residents were shocked, saddened and angry.

Select committee urged to avoid courtroom 'Oprahfication'

from the article on Voxy.co.nz: Rethinking Crime and Punishment agrees that victims should be able to provide information to the court about the effects of offending; and the harm they have suffered. However, it does not believe that the presentation of a victim impact statement in the Court, was the best way to achieve it.

Stalking accused trying to abuse system

from Ian Steward's article on Stuff.co.nz: A man described by police as "New Zealand's most dangerous stalker" has requested a restorative justice session with his latest alleged victim, though a judge has rejected it as a transparent attempt to "keep in touch".

Twenty years of restorative justice in New Zealand

from the article by Fred W.M. McElrea in Tikkun: As I look back over the last twenty years, the following aspects of the family group conference system stand out as being both innovative and of potential value to adult systems as well:

Badlands or fairyland? How to misuse statistics and confuse the public

from Rethining Crime and Punishment's new newsletter Truth in Justice: If Truth in Justice were to have an annual award in 12 months time for the most inaccurate, misleading and appalling publication on crime and punishment, it is unlikely that anything would surpass Badlands: NZ - A Land Fit for Criminals by David Fraser and published by Ian Wishart. While we were reluctant to give it any more publicity, the book is a self-contained case study of what can happen when someone with a set ideological agenda sets out to prove their position through false logic and the misuse of statistics. It almost qualifies as a serious hazard to public safety. We asked three people to review the book. Each has approached it from a different perspective.

Doing justice honourably

From Janet Sim Elder's post on Per Crucem ad Lucem: A crucial question in this election year is how do we do justice honourably with both victims and offenders? How can recidivism continue downwards and how do public attitudes change to being solidly evidence-based? How do we face the challenge of changing the justice landscape? Can we provide the moral courage to help our society take steps towards a more just and merciful society?

New Zealand: Rethinking contributes to Circles of Support and Accountability

from the newsletter of Rethinking Crime and Punishment: Developed by a Mennonite community in Canada in the 1990's, COSA are groups of volunteers from the community into which the offender is released. They meet with a sex offender regularly, provide support for their reintegration and at the same time, hold them accountable for their actions. The volunteers receive extensive training and are fully informed of the offender's history, patterns of offending and the thoughts and behaviours that are likely to signal regression. The Circles begin working with the offender before they are released and are headed by a Circle Coordinator who is connected to other relevant agencies and professionals (e.g. probations, the police and clinicians) calling upon their support and advice as required.

Victim impact statements: Some concerns about current practice and proposed changes

from the article by Chris Marshall in Rethinking Crime and Punishment: Currently victims have the right to submit a VIS in a variety of ways, though it is usually in writing, and to request the opportunity to present the statement in open court. The judge has the discretion to deny this request and to edit the statement if there are concerns about its length or content. Under the new proposal, victims will have the right to use their own words in the VIS and “to address the offender so that the offender may better perceive the impact of the offence on the victim”. For serious offences (s.29 of the Victims Rights Act), victims will have an automatic right to present their VIS in court, though the judge retains the right to manage the process.

Twenty years of restorative justice in New Zealand: Reflections of a judicial participant

from the article by Judge Fred McElrea: The following aspects of the family group conference system stand out after 20 years6 as being both innovative and of potential value to adult systems as well:

New Zealand study: Reoffending Analysis for Restorative Justice Cases: 2008 and 2009

from the Ministry of Justice study and summary: The aim of this study was to determine whether restorative justice conferences led to reduced reoffending. It is based on data for offenders completing conferences in 2008 and 2009 compared with a similar group of offenders who did not receive restorative justice. The principal finding of the report is that restorative justice had a statistically significant impact on reducing the proportion of people reoffending, and for those who did reoffend, there is an indication of a reduction in the frequency of reoffending and a lower rate of imprisonment.

New Zealand: Church leaders call for review of criminal justice system

From the article by the Episcopal News Service: Anglican church leaders in New Zealand are urging politicians to set up a special commission to investigate the country's criminal justice system. The move follows a remark by the Deputy Prime Minister Bill English that "prisons are a fiscal and moral failure." Archbishops David Moxon and Brown Turei – along with the Anglican Social Justice Commissioner, the Rev. Anthony Dancer – fully agree with English's view. They suggest politicians can build on English's remarks by: setting up a criminal justice commission to provide independent advice to the government; taking a non-political, bi-partisan approach to those issues; and systematically investigating alternatives to jail, such as restorative justice.

Restorative justice for teens charged in jetski death

from the article in the New Zealand Herald: Family of Bishop Thompson, the teenager killed in a jetski accident near Rotorua in January, told a judge they never wanted to see the matter taken to court. Speaking at the invitation of Judge Chris McGuire in the Rotorua District Court this morning, family spokesman Mana Witoko said it supported the plan to have the two youths charged in connection with the death take part in a restorative justice programme.

The power of penal populism in New Zealand from 1999 to 2008

from Tess Bartlett's abstract to her thesis: This thesis explains the rise and power of penal populism in contemporary New Zealand society. It argues that the rise of penal populism can be attributed to social, economic and political changes that have taken place in New Zealand since the post­war years. These changes undermined the prevailing penal­welfare logic that had dominated policymaking in this area since 1945. It examines the way in which ‘the public’ became more involved in the administration of penal policy from 1999 to 2008. The credibility given to a law and order referendum in 1999, which drew attention to crime victims and ‘tough on crime’ discourse, exemplified their new role. In its aftermath, greater influence was given to the public and groups speaking on its behalf.

TV captures killer driver's remorse

from John cousins' article in Bay of Plenty Times: A trail-breaking television documentary featuring an emotionally harrowing face-to-face meeting between killer driver Kristy King and one of her victim's families will have a strong Tauranga connection. Tauranga restorative justice facilitators Tim Clarke and Sharon Stewart play a pivotal role in the conference which screens tomorrow on TV2's 20/20 programme. A documentary team were there to film the raw emotions of the conference which preceded King's sentencing last month on three charges of careless driving causing death.

Mangakino awarded $30,000 after restorative justice process

From the article on Environment Waikato: The Mangakino community is to receive $30,000 towards community projects from Taupo District Council (TDC) as part of a restorative justice ruling handed down last week by the Tokoroa District Court over illegal sewage dumping. After a prosecution initiated by Environment Waikato, TDC pleaded guilty to illegally dumping sewage sludge at sites around the town in 2008. The discharges by TDC followed a series of problems with Mangakino’s sewage system. EW consented to a restorative justice process that involved a meeting in Mangakino to work out how a suggested $27,000 fine could be put back into the local community.

The story of a wounded healer

From the article by Jackie Katounas in Issue 79 of the Rethinking Crime and Punishment Newsletter: For the best part of 25 years I was a career criminal, and often a prisoner - with little insight into the effects of my offending and limited respect for myself or others. I am not an academic and I have had limited tertiary education. Instead my training and credibility has grown out of the harshness of my own life experiences.

News about abusive texts stuns parents of dead girl

from Michael Dickison's article in the New Zealand Herald: The parents of a 15-year-old girl walked out of court yesterday when they learned that their daughter's lover stood by and watched his wife send abusive texts to her. The girl killed herself days later. In the Rotorua District Court, Pelesasa Tiumalu, 28, was jailed for four years and three months for having sex with an underage girl.

Editorial: Remarkable result

From The Press: On the face of it, a new approach by the St Thomas of Canterbury school to misbehaviour by students has been an extraordinary success. Since replacing its pastoral care behaviour management system with a restorative justice programme, the number of suspensions and expulsions the school has made have plummeted.

Lessons in transformation: "You gotta smile at the little f…ers"

By KIm Workman Last night, Maori Television screened the first of a two part programme dealing with the issue of family violence and child abuse. ‘Tamariki Ora - A New Beginning’ was a defining moment for Maori. It showed Maori men acknowledging that the abuse they received as children, turned them into abusers of their own children. But it also showed the extent to which whanau (families) are acknowledging the issues, forging their own solutions, and actively working within their whanau and the community to encourage positive, loving relationships. I recall in my own marae (*meeting house) , less than 20 years ago, female elders defending a male elder who had sexually abused a visiting school child, as being a practise that was culturally acceptable in traditional times. We all knew that was nonsense, but no one had the guts to face the issue head on. Those days are now well and truly gone. I wept tears at the programme – but they were tears of joy. From this day on, no one will ever be able to say that Maori are failing to take responsibility for their own behaviour.