Politicians slow to act on speed says lawyer

A Rotorua defence lawyer is angry that judicial pressure had to be applied before politicians would approve money to clear the backlog of methamphetamine court cases.

Harry Edward said the shortage of forensic scientists, who test evidence for methamphetamine cases, had long been a problem and politicians should have acted more quickly.

"Experts have been available but the Government needed to allocate sufficient funds. They have simply done nothing and it has taken judicial pressure before they reacted."

The Government announced this week a $39 million funding boost to fight the growing methamphetamine epidemic.

Justice Minister Phil Goff said the funding, over four years, included $17 million for the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) - meaning the number of scientists would increase from eight to 18 by the end of the year.

Mr Edward said stricter bail legislation, coupled with harsher penalties for methamphetamine-related crimes, meant defendants waiting for trials were being remanded in custody.

The backlog meant those people were spending a lot longer than normal waiting for their cases to be heard.

"The sort of delays caused by the inability of Environmental Science and Research to keep up with the workload is unacceptable and our clients are suffering by being put on remand for lengthy periods."

Although the money is expected to speed up cases now before the courts, extra ESR resources may have come too late for a Murupara couple.

Craig Mulder and Kaa Taoho are to stand trial in November after being charged with manufacturing methamphetamine at two different houses in Murupara, 65km southeast of Rotorua.

The trial will be 17 months after they were charged - a delay blamed on drug testing hold-ups.

If the Crown does not produce evidence from ESR by October 15, the pair might walk free.

The delays with the Murupara case are not unusual - similar problems have been plaguing High Court schedules throughout the country.

Mulder's lawyer, Bill Lawson, said the funding showed the Government was finally putting money into resources that were obviously necessary.

He said although such funding was never too late, it should have come earlier.

"It has to be said that the response to the problem has not exactly been as quick as it could have been."

Mr Lawson said it remained to be seen whether the money would make an immediate impact that would allow Mulder's trial to go ahead on November 8.

Mulder spent the first seven months of his remand in custody and is now on strict bail conditions.

Mr Lawson said he was still considering challenging his client's delay through the Bill of Rights.

- NZPA