Barrister Manaaki Terekia, Law Society President Tiana Epati, barrister Mana Taumanu and Heather Vaughn, president of the Gisborne Law Society. Photo / Supplied
Barrister Manaaki Terekia, Law Society President Tiana Epati, barrister Mana Taumanu and Heather Vaughn, president of the Gisborne Law Society. Photo / Supplied
OPINION
"An enlightened world where all people can come to court to seek justice and be seen, heard, understood and meaningfully participate."
An announcement today that the Gisborne District Court will be one of the first small regional courts to adopt the new Te Ao Mārama court model is afitting acknowledgement of the journey the local legal profession, and community, have embarked on to make our justice system better for Aotearoa, New Zealand.
That journey began in 2008 when lawyers and youth justice stakeholders met with the local judge in Gisborne to address the cycle of young people, predominantly Māori, who were repeatedly coming through the justice system.
Rangatahi were becoming trapped in a maze with no exits. And, no end. Through working together with local iwi, and community, the first marae-based youth court was developed at Te Poho-o-Rāwiri marae.
From those beginnings was born a network of 17 Rangatahi Courts across the country.
Gisborne was also one of the first places to pilot and adopt Iwi Community Panels, now known as Te Pae Oranga. This restorative justice programme brings together police, justice sector agencies, community workers and Māori leaders to reduce reoffending and address causes of crime.
More recently, a Family Violence Prevention Intervention court has been operating to try to break the cycle of domestic abuse.
Te Ao Mārama builds on these models of court and justice delivery. It means a more enlightened delivery of justice in modern-day Aotearoa with a focus on restoration and rehabilitation by bringing the wisdom and understanding of local iwi, hāpu and the local community into the court.
Te Ao Mārama literally means "the world of light".
For the district court, Te Ao Mārama means "an enlightened world where all people can come to court to seek justice and be seen, heard, understood and meaningfully participate".
Simply put, it involves solution-focused judging which looks at different ways to prevent, reduce and address crime. Importantly, it is focused on people and ensuring all (including non-Maori) can find a way to exit the system with a sense of feeling seen and heard.
It also looks to involve all court participants such as victims and whanau. In doing so, the aim is to improve rates of recidivism, restore the harm caused and, thereby, improve the wellbeing of all our communities.
Unsurprisingly, when Chief Judge Taumaunu called a hui weeks ago, to gauge whether local lawyers had an appetite to develop the Te Ao Mārama model in the Gisborne District Court, there was a resounding response.
The short notice hui was packed with lawyers from both prosecution and defence, along with community leaders and justice professionals – illustrating the passion and energy to do things differently.
Much of the detail will need to be worked through. Resourcing will be fundamental to providing real alternatives to simply more hard labour. Access to residential alcohol and drug treatment facilities is an example that readily comes to mind in a remote place like Gisborne.
A range of options informed by local community and iwi wisdom, properly resourced, will provide the different gears we will need for different problems.
Undoubtedly, the success of Te Ao Mārama will depend on all of us coming together. It will depend on our community being actively heard and involved. It will rely on iwi and hapū actively engaging and having confidence in this new way forward. It will also rely on the local legal profession.
There will be a dramatic cultural shift. But, given the experience we have had with our community and lawyers actively shaping the delivery of justice in Gisborne, I am hopeful.
This is how Gisborne lawyers have, and will continue, to give a voice to the national conversation on access to justice. As one lawyer pointed out at that very first hui: "Where else would you go to make this work?"
We live in a place that is the first to see the sun in the world. Where else would you go to develop an enlightened delivery of justice in modern-day Aotearoa New Zealand?
• Tiana Epati is President of the New Zealand Law Society.
