Law and Peace - Justice of the Peacejusticeofthepeace.org.nz/site/jpfed/files/Association Newsletters...Law and Peace The Newsletter of ... view the great value of Conference was in

PRESIDENT: Cathy Cooney 345 8011 REGISTRAR: Barry Gaylard Rotorua 345 6565

Law and Peace

The Newsletter of the Rotorua and

Districts JP Association

President’s Message

Welcome to the Autumn 2013 Newsletter. In this edition I wish to update you on the Federation

Conference held in Oamaru from 1-3 March. The conference was hosted by the North Otago Association, and Registrar Barry Gaylard and I attended on your

behalf. During the conference our Association received congratulations for three areas:

our Law and Peace newsletter which Christine Small and the Communications Committee publish;

the long service recognition certificates introduced by the Membership Committee at last year’s AGM; and the 2012 luncheon on the Lakeland Queen, organised

by the Social Committee, which left a positive lasting memory for out-going President Kevin Geddes.

There were a number of key developments at conference

that I will briefly cover. Further information is being posted on the Federation website www.jpfed.org.nz in the member services section. (See the back page)

Election of Officers - The new Federation President is Greg Weake, and the Vice President is Graeme Kitto. Graeme was previously our Northern Regional

representative. The in-coming Northern Regional Representative is Rachael O’Grady from Gisborne JP

Association. Rachael’s introductory communication with us is included in this newsletter. Accreditation - this will be a major focus for Federation

in the coming year. The term accreditation will be used rather than 'practising certificates' for Ministerial JPs. There was resounding support for an accreditation system

being introduced with the aim of assuring the public that JPs are update with their knowledge. Work is in progress on the criteria for determining accreditation.

JP Service Centres - the word 'centre' will be used rather than clinic and work will be done by Federation on stan-dardising the approach to the centres including signage

for advertising when centres are operating.

May 2013

KU2D (Keeping Up to Date) the word training is to apply to the initial induction for new JPs only and our

professional development will be called KU2D or education. Federation is considering opening up the ministerial training field on the website (currently

reserved for potential JPs ‘in training’) to all JPs so we can periodically do our own on-line refresher for ministerial functions.

Professional Development for emerging leaders and succession planning for Association office roles. Federation is developing an emerging leaders pro-

gramme and exploring sponsorship to enable one person to attend a programme from each Association every two

years.

Judicial matters - The introduction of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 – there will be a transition process

from 1 July 2013 to the CPA; and implementation of Electronic Operating Management system (known previously as E-Bench). Barry and I were able to try out

the system while at conference and it is very impressive. (There is a photo is of Federation Education Officer

Sarah Loftus and myself beside the promotional banner for the new electronic system on page four)

Conference Remits (please refer to your Summer 2012

Justices’ Quarterly, Page 5, for remit detail) Accepted Remits: 1, 2 (ii), 3 (i); Remits 2 (i) and 4 related to practising certificates/JPs keeping current so

please see the section on accreditation above; Lost Remit: 3(ii)

Lastly a reminder that our annual luncheon will be held

23 June at the Blue Baths, Rotorua. Please email Barry Gaylard to reserve a place and remember partners are

very welcome. I hope you enjoy reading this Autumn newsletter. My sincere thanks to Christine Small and Mark Gould (for

photocopying) and all those involved in the updates from our Association sub-committees and branches.

From the Registrar’s desk

National Conference A full report is available on the web-site, but from a personal

view the great value of Conference was in the networking that is

possible. It is gratifying to realise that some of our initiatives are

near the forefront of Association activity, whilst we are also able

to take hold of the ideas of others and develop them to suit our situation.

Subscriptions

I seem to harp on this topic every time I write but it remains extremely disappoint-

ing that at this stage there are still 15 Justices who have not paid their subscription,

This represents a potential loss of income of nearly $1000, an amount we can cer-

tainly ill afford. Four of them are a further year outstanding and are in real risk of

having their Association membership terminated in line with the appropriate clause

in our constitution. If you are not sure if you are currently financial please contact

me urgently.

RECT Support

Council were delighted to receive notice recently that our application to the Rotorua

Energy Charitable Trust for a donation towards ‘Operating Costs’ has been success-

ful. We have been granted a sum of $1500 for each of the next three years.

Council has begun considering ways in which this money can be used to assist

operation and education activities. Any suggestions from members will be

considered.

Yellow Pages Listings

Please note that future listings, delistings or amendments will be the responsibility

of the individual Justice. Note also that those of you who are Marriage Celebrants

should not include the fact that you are a Justice of the Peace in that listing. That

could be seen as promoting yourself in a remunerated situation by using your status

as a JP and is thus against the Code of Conduct.

Membership

We record with sympathy to the family the passing of Mr John Marsh MBE JP and

Mr Murray Black JP

Mr Sam Kennedy and Mr Hiwinui Heke have been granted JP (Retired) status.

A number of nominations for JP in Taupo and Rotorua are at various stages in the

process.

Regards

Barry Gaylard Registrar

Contact Details

327 Haliburton Road

RD 1

Kotemaori

Hawkes Bay 4188

Home Phone

(06) 837 6558

Cellphone

0274 877 057

Email:

[email protected]

Letter of Introduction

It is an honour to be taking up the position as your Northern Regional Representative.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to Graeme Kitto who has done an outstanding job in this very role. I understand I have

very big boots to fill. Naturally I will have a different style but I am looking forward to keeping up the good work that Graeme has done. My contact details are to the left, including a map indicating where Kotemaori is.

My intention is to make myself as easy to contact as possible. Since I actively farm with my husband I am often out on the farm (the above photo indicates how you would find me most days) . Therefore, should you need to phone me, and no one answers the phone, please do leave a message and I will get back to you at the earliest possible convenience. Cellphone coverage is limited where we live, but I can receive text messages. Email is always a good option as I am at my computer several times a day. I am set up for Skype, but the link is less than desirable for good communication. 2013 is set to be another busy year, particularly for JJP’s, with the following new initiatives: The Criminal Procedures Act is set to come into force July 1st 2013, with

Judicial Educator Workshops set to be held during April. The Northern Regions workshop is scheduled to be held in Hamilton. This will involve training the trainers, who will then be expected to work with their own court panels, bringing them up to speed.

eBench training is to be provided for JJP’s by the Ministry of Justice in 2 ways: online modules and facilitated training. Judicial Manuals are being updated and re-printed. You can expect to

receive a new one during 2013. It is important that each association implements and meets the obligations of the Court Panel Management agreement. Also in 2013, Waikato Association will be hosting this years 20th Northern Regional Conference to be held in Hamilton August 24-25. ( This is quite sig-nificant in that the first ever Northern Regional Conference was also held in Hamilton)

Rachael O'Grady

Northern Regional Representative

Do you remember the Verification Of Work form that was sent out last year. You

were asked to to complete it and send it back. Here is the result of your

responses—from the Membership Committee of your Council

I would like to express my appreciation to all those Justices from the Rotorua &

Districts Justices of the Peace Assn. who completed a ‘verification of work’ for the year ended 31 August 2012 , and to Ralph de Raat, who collated the data.

Completed returns were received from 96 Justices, from a total membership at the end of the last financial year of 202, or 47.5% return.

106 Justices did not complete the return. Certified copies of documents was the most frequent activity with a total of

11,214, or an average of 116 per return. Statutory declarations were the next most

frequent activity, with a total or 1910, or an average of 19.8 per return. Witnessing signatures was the third most frequent activity, with a total of 583;

followed by a total of 328 ‘18+’ cards signed.. Also 244 affidavits were sworn.

More than 200 sessions, were held at the various ‘service centres’ (previously known as ‘clinics’) by 23 Justices.

21 Justices who completed a return did not record having attended a ‘keeping up to date’ or ‘education’ session, (previously known as ‘training’).

114 Court days were recorded by 8 Judicial Justices. 301 search warrants were

authorised.

Why are Justices asked to keep a record of work completed?

Section 6 of the Royal Federation of NZ Justices Association Code of Conduct

requires a Justice of the Peace to: “Maintain a record of activities provided the

information stored is not used in any manner contrary to the Privacy Act”. All JP Associations in NZ collate their data and forward it to the Royal Federation, who

use the data as part of their negotiations with the Ministry of Justice for funding. Our local data was recently used to support a successful funding application.

There has also been a recent increase in companies phoning a Justice, seeking

confirmation that they have signed various forms. By keeping a record, Justices can easily confirm such a query.

It is the policy of the District Assn. for all Justices to complete an annual return.

The next request for this information will be sent out in August. One particular point of clarification is that we count the number of activities, not the number of

clients. In reviewing the overall data for the Rotorua & Districts Assn., it is clear that a

significant amount of important work is being done by a group of dedicated

volunteers. I’m sure that our local communities appreciate the work being done.

Noel Stevens (Membership Committee Convenor)

Justices of the peace (from left) Rachael

O'Grady (Kotemaori), Tim Hillerby (Dunedin)

and Alison Thomson (Havelock North) get an

insight from Ministry of Justice team leader Chris Pennell (centre) into new technology to be

introduced to New Zealand courts in stages

from July. Photo by David Bruce.

Otago Daily Times 2 March 2013

The ministry hopes the new ''electronic operating model'' will revolutionise court recording,

leading to a paper-less system.

About 120 justices of the peace are in Oamaru for their two-day national conference and those

involved in court proceedings had their first glimpse of the new system.

They had a chance to try it, ask ministry experts questions and comment on the system.

The conference officially started in the opera house after registrations yesterday morning, a

welcome by North Otago JP president Derek Austin, Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton and Waitaki

MP Jacqui Dean followed by business sessions and regional meetings.

Today, the conference continues with business sessions and guest speakers, including a video

link address by Minister of Courts Chester Borrows. Tomorrow, Waitaki deputy mayor Jim

Hopkins will deliver an address and the conference will conclude with lunch.

This article was in the Otago Daily Times on 2nd March

David Foote JP for 40+ years Mike Worth JP for 30+ years

Mrs Pam Wilson JP for 15+ years Bruce Nairn JP for 20+years

A Few bits and Bobs of (Important) Information for Everyone The Speaker for the Annual Dinner to be held at the Blue Baths on 23rd June is Gerald Stock. There will be an Ethnic Lunch at Indian Star Restaurant on 21st September. The Speaker will be Guna Magesan. The JP badges are still available from Express Badges

- [email protected]

- P O Box 334, Matamata 3440

- (07) 888 5362

The badge is $12 but the postage is now $2.10, a total of $14.10

Accessing the Royal Federation Website.

Google (or other browser) Royal Federation of

New Zealand of Justices’ Associations.

At the top right of the front page is the box for the

JP login. Click this and fill in your username and

password.

The username and password are available to

members by contacting the Royal Federation by

phone or email.

Once into the members only pages on the left hand

side of your screen is a blue box with the

following listed:

Rotorua and Districts

Ministerial Justices

My account (where you can change your title,

address, email or phone number.)

Website FAQ’s

Education Trust

Merchandise

Educators - Ministerial

Educators - Judicial

Judicial Justices

The site also has suggestions as to where to go for

such things as: Senior Net (for further computer

training) and Ministry of Justice - list of forms

Back on the front page of the site you will find such

things as:

Home

Find a JP

What can a JP do for me?

Becoming a JP

About Us

Links to other useful sites.

.

Can one say “no” to prospective clients if

one has had enough of being a JP?

No.

If you want to finish being a JP you need to

apply to retire or resign. It is unethical to

refuse all clients. However neither are you

expected to be available 24 hours a day to

every client at their request. There is a

reasonable balance. You should offer

clients a time or times that suit you, then if

it is not possible between you both to find a

suitable time, the person should find a

different JP.

From The Editor

I would like to acknowledge again the contribution by Mark Gould who photocopies the newsletter for postal recipients, so

they can have it in colour, and of the District Court in Rotorua who provide the envelopes and postage. Many thanks to you

all.

I always welcome feedback and I can be contacted on Phone (07) 343 9145 (leave a message if I am not home)

Email [email protected]

Cell 021 439 054

Christine Small

Editor

Alan Cloke, Mary Burge, Maurice Toetoe, Jacob Te

Kurapa, and Yvonne Rewi at the Keeping Up To Date

session held at Murapara on 20th February

TAUPO AND TURANGI NEWS

Attendance at the meetings of the Taupo and Districts Association has been very good and involvements in our meetings has been great. Kathy Doyle, as our trainer, continues raising interesting issues and scenarios at out meetings which of course apart from being interesting is necessary. It still intrigues me that a number of Justices feel they

do not need to attend and receive ongoing training. On a sadder note we record the death of John Murray Black. Murray was a long time chairman of the Taupo county Council and represented Taupo On the Waikato Regional Council for many years. He was a long serving and responsible Justice of the Peace in this area. Winter is approaching but I encourage our members to continue to attend our meetings,

Rex Hawkins. Chairman.

TOKOROA AND MANGAKINO NEWS

A new JP Service Centre has opened in Mangakino. This facility is available on Mondays for the Mangakino and Whakamaru residents. The office is set up at the Mangakino Budgeting Services office.

The Tokoroa JJP’s are attending a training session on the new Court procedure that starts 1 July 2013. The changes for JJP’s wont start until mid 2014, but it was very good to see that the proposed changes should improve the flow through the Courts significantly.

The Tokoroa JP’s have been invited to share a training session with the Putaruru JP’s. This session will be run by the Waikato Association. This will be a great opportunity for the two JP communities as they have never met as one group before.

At our recent training session, long service certificates were presented to those JP’s who have served our Community for longer than 10 years. We have got one Justice who has now completed 45 years of JP service to the Tokoroa Community. Well done Mr. Dave Foote. We also have a couple completing 30 years plus service. Photos are on page six opposite. Well done everyone.

Bruce Nairn. Chair