It is 18 months into a five-year plan to upgrade Tauranga's district courthouse but a local lawyer is doubtful the rebuild will take place in his career span.
Last week Minister for Courts Aupito William Sio met with six judges to discuss the future of the Tauranga District Court.
InDecember 2019, the Government announced it would invest $100 million in a rebuild project delivering a "courthouse of the future" to the city.
When the project was first announced, it was expected to be ready by 2025.
Sio said the conversation with judges was "very constructive".
"This is the courthouse that needs to be developed by the region, for the region."
But Sio could not yet provide any details around how the courthouse would look.
Tauranga lawyer Tony Rickard-Simms believed the rebuild would take a long time.
"I don't think we will see the building in my career, it will be a slow process I imagine."
Rickard-Simms said he hadn't been included in the consultation process so far and he used the court facilities most days.
Improved accessibility and bathroom facilities were just some of the changes he would like to see at the new courthouse.
"No cockroaches, better access, no mould, and I would like a lawyers' robing room with a shower in it because we have to share our toilets with witnesses."
Crown solicitor Anna Pollett said the experience for everyone in the criminal justice system in Tauranga was poor.
"There are significant issues in the current Tauranga court which frequently result in poor experiences for defendants, victims, witnesses and jurors."
She said the design must take the interests of everyone into account.
"It must cater for the growth in the region and incorporate not the very basic technology of today but look to future improvement."
Crown solicitor Anna Pollett. Photo / File
She had hoped the process would have been further down the track at this stage.
"Given we are now 18 months into what was a five-year plan from design to completion."
Pollett had been included in the initial consultation, termed the "discovery phase".
"In the discovery phase, the consultation was extremely limited and didn't grapple with the very important issues that need to be addressed in any courthouse design in Tauranga.
"My understanding is that the discovery phase will then go to a design phase and that the actual consultation will occur at this stage."
She had suggested the design team experience the court themselves during a jury trial week to get an understanding of all the "complexities and challenges" lawyers face in the current environment.
Tauranga barrister Craig Tuck, who has worked in criminal justice for 35 years, said most courts in Asia were better in many ways compared to Tauranga District Court.
Tuck said the new building needed to be technology-led, with secure and accessible video facilities at the forefront.
He believed attendance in person at courts should be the exception and not the rule.
"We are still stuck in the '90s."
"Access to justice, cost and other considerations make the use of 'in person' appearances at callovers and the like irresponsible use of resources - unless there is an important reason for appearances."
Ministry of Justice deputy secretary corporate and digital services, Tina Wakefield, said it was anticipated Minister Sio would receive a business case on the upgrade within the next three months.
The business case would set out reasons for investment and provide Cabinet with options in order to make a decision, she said.
Wakefield said the timing had been slightly impacted by Covid-19 restrictions but the intention was always to present a business case to Cabinet around July 2021.
Consultation around the design phase would begin as soon as an option from the business case was selected for further development, she said.
