ACT New Zealand

ACT will build on Nicole McKee’s practical record as Courts Minister of reducing delays, modernising court processes, and investing in the infrastructure needed to deliver timely justice.

Legislative priorities include expanding the role and powers of Community Magistrates, progressing the Regulatory Systems (Courts) Amendment Bill, and replacing outdated remote-participation legislation. The new remote-participation framework will establish clearer defaults for when audio-visual technology should be used, improving consistency and efficiency while preserving judicial discretion where an in-person appearance better serves justice.

Court buildings matter too. Budget 2026 committed $100 million toward two new Rotorua courthouses, providing additional courtroom capacity and safer separation between victims, witnesses, jurors and defendants.

Nicole has visited almost every courthouse in New Zealand and has seen first-hand the condition of the estate. ACT wants to continue prioritising essential maintenance, repairs and replacement of failing facilities. That will require disciplined government spending and finding savings in bureaucracy so resources can be directed toward core public services such as functioning courts.

Alliance

The Alliance believes that judges must be appointed on a criteria reflecting experience, skill and competence, together with cultural awareness.

All key infrastructure delivering service to the community must be accessible, safe and welcoming. The Alliance KiwiWorks entity will be responsible for regularly maintaining all key government infrastructure including courthouses. Courthouse buildings and facilities must provide for safe and healthy working environments for court staff and those using them.

Technology, AI, and audio-visual links should be used to enhance access to justice, but should not be used when rae ki te rae (face to face) interaction is required in the interests of justice.

Facilities and resources made available to the Crown at court buildings, should also be made available to the defence.

Animal Justice Party Aotearoa New Zealand

We support a modern, accessible and well-resourced court system that delivers timely, independent and affordable justice.

We also support ensuring New Zealand’s courts are equipped to respond to the continued development of animal and environmental law. Issues such as biodiversity loss, wildlife crime, intensive farming and biosecurity increasingly raise complex legal questions that cross traditional legal boundaries.

Courts have an essential constitutional role in interpreting evolving legal principles. Overseas decisions considering legal standing and habeas corpus applications for individual animals demonstrate that animal law is becoming an increasingly significant area of jurisprudence.

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party

The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party key policies are to legalise cannabis for R18 Recreational – 1.4 million people voted YES in the 2020 Referendum. Affordable Medicinal Access – 265,000 registered medicinal users and development of the Hemp Industries. Together these industries are worth Billions – See Deloitte Canada Cannabis Report showing millions of tax dollars revenue and scale it to the New Zealand population. Our policy indicates there will be increased government tax income to improve courthouse buildings and facilities.

Free Palestine

The Free Palestine Party has not developed policy on this issue.

Greens

We would expand Te Ao Mārama to all courts in Aotearoa and ensure specialist youth courts including the Rangatahi and Pasifika Courts, Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court, and New Beginnings Court are available to all who wish to access them. We should also adopt the recommendations of the Chief Justice to have more senior court judges, as well as reintroduce a requirement ensure the pool of judges we have reflects our population.

Labour

Justice infrastructure must be properly maintained. We support commitments to improve justice infrastructure that have been made recently and acknowledge that properly maintained buildings and facilities will require commitments by successive governments, whatever their political stripes.

National

The National-led Government has already made strong progress on improving court timeliness, but faster justice requires adequate infrastructure to support it.

Budget 2025 invested $246 million over four years to improve the operational capacity of the court system, and Budget 2026 has invested in the construction of two new courthouses in Rotorua. We’re also rolling out the digitising of the courts initiative – Te Au Reka, which will transform the courts from being a paper-based system to an electronic one. We know this will make an enormous difference.

National will continue to invest in our court system and infrastructure to make sure that justice is delivered in safe, modern, fit-for-purpose facilitates. However, the details of those specific investments will need to be announced in due course when appropriate.

New Zealand First

Streamlining court systems by supporting Modernisation of Courts legislation, promoting online document submission, and expanding technology to reduce hearing times.

Optimizing judicial resources by employing senior administrators to handle case management and interlocutory matters in civil and Family courts.

Addressing rural facility shortages by partnering with community Playcentres to use their buildings for supervised after-hours parent-child visits.

NZ Loyal

NZ Loyal regards the courts as a core institution of a free society and a core function of government. They should be funded accordingly.

We support clearer jurisdictional treatment of disputes involving natural persons, their liberty, property and fundamental rights, and disputes arising primarily from companies, trusts, contracts and other commercial relationships.

We also support a stronger physical court network. Courthouses should generally be smaller, modern, secure and more widely distributed so people can access justice without unnecessary travel or delay. We would invest in additional courtrooms, upgraded facilities, reliable technology, private lawyer-client consultation areas and sufficient judicial and administrative capacity to improve case throughput.

Commencing and progressing a legitimate dispute should be clear and efficient. Procedure exists to support justice, not become the object of the system.

We also want jury service restored as a respected civic duty. Jury participation should be actively promoted, properly supported and appropriately remunerated. We would restrict jury eligibility to New Zealand citizens.

Citizens should be able to take pride not only in having access to an independent justice system, but in being called upon to participate directly in its operation.

NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party

FREEDOM priority is providing speedy access to justice for all.

Opportunity

Opportunity’s broader approach to infrastructure emphasises timely investment in maintenance and upgrades to enable more effective and intensive use of existing infrastructure and reduce longer-term costs. We know that court infrastructure is ageing and has not been sufficiently maintained, so are supportive of a robust long-term plan to lift investment levels.

Te Tai Tokerau Party

Te Tai Tokerau is disadvantaged because of its location. Access to justice means more than having laws and courts. In principle it means having appropriate facilities, services, and resources available to our communities.

Current departmental capital expenditure sits at $251.5 million for courthouse buildings and facilities across Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Tauranga, and Whanganui. It is important that Te Tai Tokerau are not left behind in this space. We are closely watching the future of Te Ao Marama a court led, whānau centred model that directly reflects what our communities are asking for. We support the continuation of this work. Our approach is straightforward.

Decisions regarding justice infrastructure and services must be informed by the communities who use them.

Vision New Zealand

Restoring Confidence, Access and Efficiency in New Zealand’s Courts.

Vision NZ believes every New Zealander deserves timely, affordable and impartial access to justice, with a court system that protects victims, upholds the rule of law and treats every person with dignity.

We will strengthen the Courts portfolio by reducing unnecessary delays and backlogs, improving case management and ensuring sufficient resources for judges, court staff, legal aid and essential court services.

Courthouse Buildings and Facilities: Vision NZ will undertake a nationwide assessment of courthouse buildings to identify facilities that are unsafe, overcrowded, outdated or unsuitable for modern justice. We will prioritise upgrading or replacing these facilities, with particular attention to seismic safety, security, accessibility, privacy, appropriate victim and witness areas, secure holding facilities, family-friendly spaces and reliable technology. New courthouses will be designed for long-term community needs and value for taxpayers.

We will protect and maintain significant historic courthouse buildings where practical, while ensuring they remain safe and fit for purpose.

Technology will be used to improve efficiency and access, including secure digital filing, case management and appropriate audio-visual facilities, while retaining the right to have matters heard in person where justice requires it.

Vision NZ will ensure justice is accessible, timely, secure, accountable and properly resourced.