Judges' $300,000-plus jaunt to plush resort

District court judges spent more than $315,000 of taxpayer money on a five-day conference at a Queenstown hotel - but the chief judge has refused to say what was discussed.

The conference meant regular district court business was suspended for the week, with urgent matters being handled by retired judges or the few judges who stayed behind.

The choice of venue for the three-yearly conference - Queenstown's Millennium Hotel - has drawn criticism from the National Party, which says it's a bad look for judges to go to a "resort town" on public money.

The Herald on Sunday approached the Chief District Court Judge's office for information about the conference shortly before it was held, from March 20-24.

But judicial communications adviser Neil Billington said details about the conference and its subject matter needed to "remain confidential".

"It's not something that requires any widespread public attention," he said.

The judiciary is not covered by the Official Information Act, but the Ministry of Justice is.

Figures released by the ministry under the Act show the total cost of the publicly funded conference came to just over $316,000, including:

$125,600 for participants' travel costs;
$89,100 for accommodation;
$79,250 for venue hire and catering at the hotel;
$22,300 for miscellaneous costs;

In a written statement this week, Chief District Court Judge Russell Johnson defended the conference as a training opportunity and a valuable chance for judges who usually worked alone to meet and compare notes.

He said judges heard from a variety of speakers on "a range of significant legal and social issues".

"It would not be right for me to provide more detailed information to the media and the public about the conference as these education and training sessions require confidentiality so that speakers and judges can discuss the issues with complete frankness with one another," he said.

National Party justice spokesman Richard Worth said it was good for judges to have such conferences, but the venue was a poor choice and it would have been less expensive if held in a more central location.

"There will always be a suspicion when Crown-funded entities choose to have conferences in resort locations," he said.

He also criticised the secrecy surrounding the conference, saying it made it look like "a junket" when it probably wasn't.

Judge Johnson refused to reveal the exact number of judges who attended, but said "most" of the 120 district court judges were there, except for a few who could not be because of personal reasons or because they were assigned to handle urgent court matters that arose during the week.

Speaking before the conference, Mr Billington said advance planning had insured the conference would cause only "minimal disruption" to the court schedule.