Contents

Introduction from the Minister of Justice

Introduction from the Secretary for Justice

Nature and Scope of Functions

Strategic Direction

Operating Intentions

Managing in a Changeable Operating Environment

Organisational Health and Capability

Introduction from the Minister of Justice

This Statement of Intent reflects that, as lead Minister for the justice sector and Minister Responsible for the Ministry of Justice, my priority for the short term is an immediate increase in public safety by tightening up several aspects of the criminal justice system.

This Statement of Intent also reflects my longer-term priority to reduce crime and victimisation by leading a new approach that shifts the focus not only from dealing with the consequences of crime, but also towards addressing the drivers of crime to reduce its incidence over time.

Prior to this financial year, the Ministry of Justice undertook an extensive work programme which laid the foundation for improvements to the criminal justice system in the short term. During this financial year those changes will be implemented, and work will begin on my long-term priority.

This Statement of Intent outlines how the Ministry will achieve this. Work programmes have been created to simplify the flow of cases through the court system, improve services to victims of crime, and identify and address the drivers of crime.

Over the three year period of this Statement of Intent, I also expect that the Ministry will continue to deliver good quality court and tribunal services, support for the judiciary and Parliament and advice for Ministers.

I look forward to working with the Ministry over the coming three years.

Hon Simon Power
Responsible Minister for the Ministry of Justice

Statement of Responsibility

In accordance with section 39 of the Public Finance Act 1989, I confirm that the information contained in the 2009/10 Statement of Intent for the Ministry of Justice is consistent with the policies and performance expectations of the Government.

Hon Simon Power
Responsible Minister for the Ministry of Justice
22 April 2009

Introduction from the Secretary for Justice

The Ministry has developed a work programme to deliver on the Government's priorities. This Statement of Intent outlines the impacts we are seeking to achieve for each of these priorities.

Before the financial year began, the Government engaged in a programme of significant legislative change. The focus for the Ministry this year will accordingly be on implementing these changes within the Ministry and within the justice sector.

Supporting the Government to reach its target of 2014 for the progression of all historical Treaty of Waitangi claims will also be a key area of focus.

I am confident that, with the support of staff and managers, we will address challenges as they arise and continue to work towards our vision of delivering first class justice services.

Belinda Clark
Secretary for Justice and Chief Executive

Statement of Responsibility

In signing this statement, I acknowledge that I am responsible for the information contained in the Statement of Intent for the Ministry of Justice. This information has been prepared in accordance with the Public Finance Act 1989. It is also consistent with the proposed appropriations set out in the Appropriations (2009/10 Estimates) Bill, as presented to the House of Representatives in accordance with section 13 of the Public Finance Act 1989, and with existing appropriations and financial authorities.

Belinda Clark                                                   Lara Ariell
Chief Executive                                               Chief Financial Officer
22 April 2009

Nature and Scope of Functions

The Minister of Justice leads the justice sector including justice sector Ministers and is responsible for the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Justice (the Ministry) provides a range of services on behalf of the Government and provides services for:

• the Minister of Justice and Associate Minister of Justice
• the Minister for Courts
• the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations
• the Minister Responsible for the Law Commission, and
• the Attorney-General.

CONSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

The maintenance of the separation of powers and the independence of each of the three branches of government is fundamental to New Zealand's constitutional arrangements. The Ministry has a pivotal and unique role in supporting both the executive and judicial arms of government.

ROLE

The Ministry has the following functions:

• delivery of operational services, including court and tribunal-related services, collection of fines and reparations, electoral services and negotiations for settling historical Treaty of Waitangi claims
• provision of support to the judiciary
• provision of policy advice
• leadership of the justice sector
• management of non-departmental output classes.

The Ministry administers three Votes: Justice, Courts, and Treaty Negotiations.

OPERATIONAL SERVICES

The Ministry delivers the following operational services for all New Zealanders on behalf of the Government:

• administration, case management and support services to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and District Courts, including the Family Court and Youth Court
• resolution of court-imposed monetary penalties (including reparations) and infringement fines issued by prosecuting authorities, enforcement and completion of civil judgment orders and serving of court documents
• administration, case management and support services to specialist jurisdictions, including the Māori Land Court, Māori Appellate Court, Environment Court, Employment Court, Coronial Services, and a range of authorities and tribunals including the Disputes, Tenancy and Weathertight Homes Tribunals
• delivery of registry services, claims administration, research services, hearings management, judicial support and report-writing services to the Waitangi Tribunal
• negotiations for the settlement of historical claims arising from the Treaty of Waitangi, and management of land for use in settlements
• administration of parliamentary elections, by-elections and referenda
• provision of advice on crime reduction policies and practices, and support and funding to community-based crime reduction initiatives.

SUPPORTING JUDICIAL DECISION MAKING

A key role for the Ministry is supporting the work of the judiciary. The Ministry ensures that the judiciary is provided with adequate levels of administrative, technological and human resources support, and funding for judicial training and development. The Ministry seeks judicial input into its operations through joint Ministry-judicial governance and management committees and councils, for example, on improvements to court processes and service design.

In delivering services, the Ministry recognises the importance of the constitutional independence of judicial decision making, and works with the judiciary to ensure this independence is preserved and maintained.

Some staff exercise judicial functions under the supervision of judges (for example, exercising Registrars' powers in relation to interlocutory applications). However, the same staff, as part of their responsibilities as Ministry employees, may also perform tasks related to the functions of the executive (for example, exercising management duties such as human resource and financial responsibilities). When staff exercise functions of a judicial nature, guidance may be provided by the Ministry through training and resources, such as Registrars' handbooks. However, the Ministry has no ability to direct and control the exercise by staff of their judicial functions. This reflects the need for judicial independence – the courts must be, and must be seen to be, separate from and independent of the executive. Staff are made aware of the different principles that apply when they are carrying out their judicial and executive functions.

POLICY ADVICE

The Ministry provides policy advice to Ministers across its three Votes. Briefings and advice are provided to Ministers and Cabinet that respond to the Government's priorities, policies and the reform and development of legislation. Support and advice are also provided to several select committees, in particular, Justice and Electoral, Law and Order and Māori Affairs.

The Ministry facilitates input from the public into the justice system by managing consultation during the reform and/or development of justice-related legislation, and communicates to the public, on behalf of the Government, the intent and implementation requirements of new legislation.

In addition to providing advice about criminal justice and crime reduction, the Ministry works directly with a range of non-governmental organisations in crime prevention and other activities, such as partnerships with local authorities and iwi.

JUSTICE SECTOR LEADERSHIP

The Minister of Justice is the lead Minister for the justice sector and the Ministry supports this role by providing advice and coordinating the planning of the entire sector. The government agencies in the justice sector are: the Ministry of Justice, the New Zealand Police, the Department of Corrections, the Serious Fraud Office, the Crown Law Office and the Ministry of Social Development.

The government agencies in the justice sector are: the Ministry of Justice, the New Zealand Police, the Department of Corrections, the Serious Fraud Office, the Crown Law Office and the Ministry of Social Development.

The Ministry ensures a results-focused approach to the sector's management is taken by all agencies. This includes undertaking research and evaluation, providing advice in relation to sector outcomes, linking cross-sector work that contributes to those outcomes, strengthening sector knowledge and information flows, and leading and coordinating the annual budget process for the sector.

NON-DEPARTMENTAL OUTPUT CLASSES

Services funded through Vote Justice are delivered by several Crown entities and other service providers. The Ministry works with these Crown entities and organisations to:

• identify and manage risks and keep the Minister of Justice informed of these risks
• support, and participate in, effective planning processes, assessing financial and non-financial performance against key indicators
• help ensure intended results can be delivered
• improve the coordination of entities and agencies within the justice sector
• support good governance through assistance with board appointment processes
• advise on the merits of significant business cases or budget initiatives.

Strategic Direction

CONTRIBUTION TO THE GOVERNMENT'S STRATEGIC DIRECTION

Responding to the global economic recession is the Government's top priority and the recession will affect the activities of all government agencies.

The Government's strategic direction is to mitigate the effects of the global recession by growing the economy to deliver greater prosperity, security and opportunities.

A strong justice system supports this direction and the Minister of Justice has directed the Ministry of Justice to strengthen the system by focussing on two overarching goals:

• addressing the drivers of crime
• simplification of criminal procedure.

These goals reflect the importance of working towards improving public safety over the long and short term.

Accordingly, the Minister of Justice and Ministers for Courts and Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations have set portfolio priorities. The priorities are:

• implementing the post-election justice commitments of the Government
• improving the functioning and efficiency of criminal courts processes, including progressing work on Criminal Procedure Simplification and a review of legal aid
• addressing court workloads
• court security
• taking a new approach to reducing crime and victimisation
• improving the responsiveness of the justice system to victims
• reducing alcohol-related harm and cost
• improving collection of fines and infringements
• settling historical Treaty of Waitangi claims by 2014.

LONG-TERM OUTCOMES

The Ministry ensures that justice sector agencies collectively plan their interventions, expenditure and services to increase their effectiveness. To do this a set of justice sector shared outcomes were agreed in 2007.

The ultimate justice sector outcome is A safe and just society, achieved through two high level outcomes of Safer communities and Civil and democratic rights and obligations enjoyed. These are supported by a further eight shared outcomes for the justice sector to work towards. The eight shared outcomes are inter-related and cannot be achieved by one agency alone.

The long-term outcomes are set out in detail in the Operating Intentions section of this Statement of Intent on page 14.

MINISTRY'S SHORT-TERM IMPACTS

Ministers have set out their immediate priorities for the Ministry of Justice. The justice sector has defined the long-term outcomes above which it is working towards. In order to maintain focus on both these timeframes the Ministry will use the following short-term impacts to express Ministers' priorities and organise its work programme for the period of this Statement of Intent.

The short-term impacts are set out in detail in the Operating Intentions section of this Statement of Intent on page 13.

ENVIRONMENT

The Ministry functions in two environments:

• the operating environment refers to the known issues influencing justice sector services on which the Ministry will have an effect over the three-year planning period of the Statement of Intent
• the strategic environment refers to the known issues that will influence justice sector services and that the Ministry will need to have an effect on in three years or more.

The operating environment is discussed in Managing in a Changeable Operating Environment on page 16.

The Ministry anticipates change in the strategic environment as outlined below.

Strategic Environment

Current environmental scanning and analysis indicates that there are emerging issues for the justice sector in:

• global economic recession, making economic stimulus the priority for government spending
• economic stresses on the community, potentially increasing criminal activity, and family and business issues requiring civil court or tribunal resolution
• complex trans-national problems being responded to with a mixture of multi-lateral and bilateral solutions
• continually increasing public expectations of convenient services, particularly online information and transactions
• citizens' differing relationships with their country of location and a different country or religion of affiliation, leading to questioning of acceptability of current legal jurisdictions and law
• population growth and increasing diversity, stretching services and requiring complex service delivery approaches, most evident in Auckland
• growing young and old populations, leading to an increase in demand for justice services and service improvement and combined with a smaller working age population to fund this.

The Ministry's five year Strategic Plan will be reviewed. This work will refresh the long-term view of the Ministry on where the justice sector will need to change to best serve the public in the future.

Management of the Parliamentary Electoral System

Operating Intentions

What are we seeking to achieve?

The Ministry makes notable contributions to all eight of the justice sector shared outcomes. The Ministry has chosen to identify its contributions to shared outcomes, without developing separate Ministry outcomes.

The shared outcomes are:

• Accessible justice services: Individuals and communities have access to resources, legal information and representation, as necessary, so they can have their rights upheld and fulfil their legal obligations.
• Crime reduced: The rate of criminal offending needs to be reduced in a manner that both prevents those at risk of becoming offenders from offending, and reduces the likelihood that existing offenders will re-offend.
• Trusted justice system: In order for agencies within the justice system to uphold and enforce the law successfully, it is important that they enjoy the confidence and respect of users, individuals and groups living both within and outside of New Zealand.
• Effective constitutional arrangements: New Zealand has a well-functioning, participative democracy in which constitutional arrangements are protected and relationships between the public and Government are enhanced by an understanding of constitutional arrangements and issues.
• Offenders held to account: Individuals, or groups of individuals, who are identified, apprehended and found guilty of committing crimes can be held to account. Where appropriate, redress can be provided for both victims and offenders, so that re-offending does not occur and victims are confident of this assertion.
• Impact of crime reduced: The harmful impacts of criminal activities, including the social and economic costs and impacts, are mitigated and reduced.
• International connectedness: The contributions of justice sector agencies to the protection of New Zealand's security, upholding of international law obligations and assisting development of trans-national justice stability.
• Durable settlements of Treaty claims: Claimants and the Crown, as well as other individuals and communities, have confidence that the Treaty settlements process is fair, equitable and achievable and that it is in the best interests of all New Zealanders, taking into account fiscal and economic constraints.

What will we do to achieve priorities?

The Ministry of Justice aims to have six short-term impacts, most of which encompass more than one priority of the Minister of Justice, the Minister for Courts and the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations.

Drivers of crime addressed – Alcohol and other drugs, particularly methamphetamine, are strongly associated with offending and victimisation. Examining and understanding these and other drivers of crime that are within the Ministry's influence is a priority to reduce crime thereby reducing in-flows to the justice system. This impact contributes to the justice sector outcome of Crime Reduced and encompasses priorities of:

• taking a new approach to reducing crime and victimisation
• reducing alcohol-related harm and cost.

Consequences for offenders are appropriate - Sanctions on offenders need to be credible to reassure the public of their safety and to play a meaningful role in deterring offending. This impact contributes to the justice sector outcome of Offenders Held to Account and encompasses priorities of:

• implementing the post-election criminal justice commitments of the Government
• improving collection of fines and infringements.

Consequences for victims are reduced- An effective and efficient justice system resolves cases and provides services to assist victims in a timely and credible way. This helps prevent re-victimisation and minimises the financial and emotional effects of crime on victims. This impact contributes to the justice sector outcome of Impact of Crime Reduced and encompasses priorities of:

• taking a new approach to victimisation
• improving the responsiveness of the justice system to victims
• improving the functioning and efficiency of criminal courts processes, including progressing work on Criminal Procedure Simplification and a review of legal aid.

Public time and money used effectively – Criminal courts are experiencing increases in new business, case complexity and trial durations resulting in challenges to court capacity. Achieving a justice system that responds without delay and in a cost-effective way involves legislation, procedure and technology changes, resulting in lower costs to businesses and individuals. This impact contributes to the justice sector outcomes of Impact of Crime Reduced and Accessible Justice Services and encompasses priorities of:

• improving the functioning and efficiency of criminal courts processes, addressing court workloads including progressing work on Criminal Procedure Simplification and a review of legal aid
• improving the responsiveness of the justice system to victims
• improving collection of fines and infringements
• taking a new approach to reducing crime and victimisation.

Credible legal and democratic systems - Credibility arises through law staying in step with the changing world and with public expectations of service and security. New Zealanders are highly aware of the shortcomings of systems and laws that are out of date and voluntary compliance can be significantly affected. Modernisation and service improvement contribute to the justice sector outcomes of Trusted Justice System and Effective Constitutional Arrangements and encompasses priorities of:

• implementing the post-election justice commitments of the Government
• court security.

Commitments honoured - One of the Crown's fundamental commitments is the Treaty of Waitangi, and the Government has further committed to achieving settlement of all outstanding claims by 2014. Commitments have also been made to bodies concerned with good governance of international trade and trans-national crime. This impact contributes to the justice sector outcomes of Durable Settlement of Treaty Claims and International Connectedness and encompasses priorities of:

• settling historical Treaty of Waitangi claims by 2014.

Managing in a Changeable Operating Environment

The Ministry of Justice aims for cost-effective, efficient and innovative solutions to operating and service delivery demands.

RISKS

As a large operational organisation with diverse services, the Ministry faces a range of risks with impacts on both day-to-day and longer-term work.

The services provided by the Ministry are being delivered in an environment of fiscal pressures; a drive for innovative services; increasing international complexity particularly with regard to international law; trade globalisation; and the interdependencies of cross-border law enforcement.

Agreed mechanisms for managing risk provide the Ministry with:

• opportunity for significant risks to be identified, communicated and managed
• access to a standardised approach to risk management
• a focus on continuous improvement of business processes
• increased stakeholder confidence in the Ministry.

The Ministry will demonstrate success in risk management through:

• all business units report on risks quarterly to General Managers
• the Audit and Risk Committee reviewing risks quarterly
• all projects having formal governance structures and risk identification processes.

Organisational Health and Capability

The Ministry of Justice is a large organisation with operations spread across the country. There are 3,000 staff and a significant portfolio of property and information technology assets.

The Ministry is making changes to deliver effective services and continuous improvement. Specific areas of focus are:

• people – learning, performance improvement and workforce planning
• technology – modernisation and improvement
• property – refurbishment, new courthouses and maintenance.

The Ministry is also developing its approaches to capital asset management and performance measurement to meet government expectations and legislative requirements.

The constrained fiscal environment will have a significant impact on these areas of focus. Although they are designed to deliver more cost-effective and higher quality services over the long term, some up-front expenditure is required. During 2009, the Ministry will be examining in detail prioritisation of operating improvements.

The Ministry is a capital-intensive agency. Capital intentions and their relationship to Organisational Health and Capability are discussed at the end of this chapter.

PEOPLE

The Ministry's People Strategy fosters the people management environment needed to achieve the Ministry's five year Strategic Plan. The People Strategy ensures that expectations are clear and excellent performance is recognised so that the right people are identified, hired, developed, managed and retained.

During 2009/10 building on the existing skills of staff and using innovative approaches to retain key talent will be the focus, as will an increased emphasis on workforce efficiency. Initiatives include:

• continuing the implementation of learning programmes for core organisational skills
• focusing on workforce planning and improved organisational efficiency through organisational design
• developing exceptional managers and leaders by enhancing practices for attracting and selecting managers to management and leadership roles
• developing and implementing approaches that support and encourage high levels of individual and team performance.

The Ministry measures the success of these initiatives through employee turnover, absenteeism rates, the training investment undertaken per full-time employee and staff achieving their key performance indicators.

In the current economic environment, it will be a significant challenge for the Ministry in the coming three years to remain an employer of choice against these measures.

TECHNOLOGY

Modernisation of Ministry technology is a priority. Specific projects in the medium term cover:

• extending the National Transcription Service to a greater number of courts. The service enables evidence to be given at twice the current speed, reduces transcript turnaround time and contributes to reducing the length of trials
• upgrading network links to courts to improve judicial network performance for courts with the greatest need
• continuing the programme to address significant obsolescence issues to ensure the effectiveness of the technology infrastructure, for example, server replacement
• upgrading from Office 97 to Office 2007 across the Ministry's application and infrastructure environment.

PROPERTY

The Ministry has an extensive property portfolio of 114 buildings and administrative offices in 106 towns and cities. The Ministry owns 74 properties and leases 40.

To realise new and efficient ways of working and to improve court security, construction and refurbishment are high priorities in the capital works programme. Long-term capital asset planning has commenced to determine priority projects and their associated high-level cost. New courthouses are being built in Timaru, Levin and Hastings with major refurbishments and alterations underway in Whangarei, Nelson and Invercargill. In 2009/10, the new Supreme Court building in Wellington will be completed.

The focus of improved service delivery in Auckland will see major courthouse refurbishment of the Auckland District Court and initial planning for a larger facility in Manukau.

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

The Ministry is committed to measuring performance to ensure effective and efficient services with desired impacts. The Ministry has a multi-year programme of work to implement a stronger performance measurement framework and review its appropriations and output class expense structure.

DEPARTMENTAL CAPITAL INTENTIONS

The Ministry's building and information technology assets are critical to service delivery, particularly courtroom service delivery. Information systems are also critical to delivery of policy advice and sector coordination services. Several of the Ministry's information technology assets also generate information that supports research and analysis for policy and strategic purposes.

The Ministry has a number of critical assets that are highly utilised and must be well maintained to ensure efficient and effective service delivery.

Asset management capability

The Ministry intends to maintain a core level of capability in capital asset management (CAM). The focus for 2009/10 is to improve capability across a number of dimensions, including better management of existing physical assets, better asset specification and analysis of information on asset performance. The Ministry, in conjunction with the justice sector, is continuing to improve capability to forecast demand for justice services. This is key to improving asset management practices within the Ministry and across the sector.

Performance of physical assets (plant, property and equipment)

The Ministry faces two key asset management challenges. There are capacity issues associated with meeting demand for courtroom service delivery, particularly in the North Island, due to the changing nature and complexity of cases in the criminal jurisdiction. The Ministry also faces issues with deferred maintenance in relation to information systems and some court buildings. Deferred maintenance issues are being addressed over time.

Capital expenditure intentions

The following table sets out the Ministry's capital intentions profile for the next five years.

The Ministry intends to maintain core asset management capability but will continue to work with other justice sector agencies to identify and implement strategic options for asset management. Pressure on court infrastructure is expected to be driven by high demand for justice services in Auckland. If new ways to provide court services require significant investment in information technology, then further capital pressures will arise.

2009 © Crown Copyright
ISSN 1175-8414 (print)
ISSN 1178-6914 (online)

Produced by the Ministry of Justice
PO Box 180
Wellington