Coroner Gordon Matenga appointed as new District Court judge for Hastings

Coroner Gordon Matenga. Photo / File

Gordon Matenga, a Hamilton-based coroner, has been appointed as a new District Court judge in Hastings.

Attorney-General David Parker announced the appointment of 21 new District Court judges in a move that he said will improve access to justice and boost diversity on the bench. Matenga was one of them.

"The new judges will help manage the increasing workload in the District Court, improve access to justice and reduce the toll that long delays have on those accessing the courts," Parker said.

"It will also mean victims of crime and their families will be able to have their day in court sooner."

Ten of the new judges are Māori, eight Pākehā, one Māori/Chinese and two Samoan. Twelve of the new judges are women.

Matenga's iwi affiliations are to Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rongomaiwahine and Ngāti Porou.

He was a partner in Preston Matenga from 1990 to 2000, a sole practitioner from 2000 to 2004 and a partner in Foster Matenga Milroy from 2004 to 2007. He focused on criminal law, civil law and Māori issues.

Matenga also worked as a part-time coroner in Hamilton from 1996 to 2007, and from 2007 as a full-time coroner in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions.

Hawke's Bay will lose one solicitor to Invercargill after her appointment as a District Court judge.

Alison McLeod, barrister and solicitor of Havelock North, has also been appointed as a District Court judge with a Family Court warrant, to be based in Invercargill.

She was admitted in 1997 and practised family and criminal law in Porirua. In 2001 she joined Callinicos Hayward in Napier.

She returned to Porirua in 2003 and commenced work with Catriona Doyle Law Offices.

In 2006 she commenced practice on her own account in Tauranga and in 2010 returned to Hawke's Bay and set up McLeod Hart Law Ltd where, aside from two sojournments with Oranga Tamariki as a Senior Solicitor, she has since practised.

Parker said he considered access to justice and further development of specialist/therapeutic courts to be key priorities for the District Court.

Once the new judges are sworn in, the number of District Court judges will increase from 155 to 172.

The legislative cap on the number of District Court judges was increased last year from 160 to 182 to allow for the new appointments and to leave room for 10 additional appointments in future years.