New Chief District Court Judge wants to see more focus on tikanga Māori

October 15, 2019

New Chief District Court Judge Heemi Taumaunu pioneered the first rangatahi court – a marae based court for young offenders.

New Zealand is "facing unprecedented calls for transformative change" in the court system, says new Chief District Court Judge Heemi Taumaunu.

"What we're hearing is effectively people saying they come to court, they believe that they're not being heard properly, they’re not being understood and they're not receiving a fair hearing as a result of that," he told TVNZ1's Q+A. 

Judge Taumaunu developed and presided over the first Rangitahi Court , a special marae-based court for young offenders. 

"It's the same law, but the process has been adapted to ensure that the individual circumstances of each person who comes before the court is fully understood.

"Sometimes it's included incorporation of te reo and tikanga, and it's also included all sorts of other innovations that have ensured that the judges making decisions at the end of the day have all the relevant material that will lead to a fair decision being made."

He now wants to see similar programmes extended, with more focus placed on tikanga Māori and specialist courts. 

"Recognising that tikanga and te reo is part of the two founding cultures of New Zealand Aotearoa, and it has a valuable place in our legal system, and it's had a valuable place in our legal history as well," he said. 

Judge Taumaunu, fluent in te reo himself, said an important part about holding a public position such as a judge was being able to pronounce Māori names. 

"It goes further than just being able to speak Māori or pronounce Māori, we need to be competent in all of the various cultures of the communities that we serve."

Q+A is on TVNZ1 on Mondays at 9.30pm, and the episode is then available on TVNZ OnDemand and as a podcast in all the usual places.

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