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Part 1 Amendments to Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004

Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) : The member Charles Chauvel raises a couple of substantive points that are worthy of reply. The first relates to the alleged call on the road-to-Damascus change of view. There was a real concern on the part of my party about interference with the conduct of the judiciary.
 
 
Part 1 Amendments to Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004

Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) : Perhaps I should make a few preliminary comments before Mr Chauvel makes a contribution. The main changes in Part 1 deal with the creation of the position of deputy commissioner. This person, as with the commissioner, will be appointed on the nomination of the House. The Attorney-General is required to consult the Chief Justice about the proposed appointment, and the deputy commissioner will act when the commissioner has a conflict of interest or is otherwise unavailable to examine complaints.
 
 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: What progress has recently been made towards achieving the Government’s goal of settling historic Treaty of Waitangi claims by 2014?
 
 
I move, That the Judicial Matters Bill be now read a second time. This is an omnibus bill that amends the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004, and also amends the Judicature Act 1908.
 
 
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General): It is great to be back in the House, and I hope that everyone had a good summer, whether it was on the golf course, by the beach, or even, Mr Assistant Speaker Barker, hooning around the North Island on a motorcycle. I hope everyone is looking forward to a lot of hard work, because, as the Prime Minister’s statement and the Order Paper show, this will be a very busy 2010.