Editorial: Dame Margaret and her profound impact

OPINION: When things go wrong in this country, Kiwis usually demand two things.

They want first to be told that "it can never happen again", unrealistic as such an assurance always is. Second, they call for "heads to roll".

This week, some heads did just that. Four members of the Legal Services Agency, the taxpayer-funded body that meets the cost of lawyers for those who cannot afford them, resigned. Retired High Court judge Sir John Hansen will be the new chair; the other new appointee is experienced commercial director John Spencer. Two existing board members, appointed only recently, will stay on the board, now reduced from six to four.

The decapitations came in the wake of Dame Margaret Bazley's final report, released last Friday, into the legal aid system, which pulled no punches. In it – and, regrettably, basing much of her criticism on hearsay – she excoriates many defence lawyers, and is almost as critical of the New Zealand Law Society and the legal profession, which, she says, is losing its professional ethos.

Dame Margaret's report is remarkable for its language – reminiscent of her blunt 450-page report into police conduct, in 2007 – and implicit dismay that a system formed to assist the most vulnerable is operating so poorly, and being manipulated by colluding defendants and legal-aid lawyers. It is littered with references to "widespread abuse", "taking backhanders", "entrenched" positions, "poor relationships" and even, "should be disbarred".

Dame Margaret acknowledges that she could not name names because the judges, police and lawyers who spoke to her during her inquiry refused to dob in those they believe behave badly, "for fear of the repercussions". What a pity. That makes it easier for those whom the report targets to dismiss its unpalatable findings as unreliable. It is always possible, of course, that she has privately made available to the society, even the attorney-general, the names of those whose activities appalled her most, for further inquiry.

Whatever. Justice Minister Simon Power is in no doubt that the woman he dispatched to do a difficult job has provided him with all the evidence he needs to make changes.

They seem likely to be widespread. Public defender services, already operating in Auckland, might well, for example, open elsewhere. Mr Power also plans to fold the LSA back into the Justice Ministry and appoint an independent statutory officer to oversee the granting of legal aid and the Public Defender Services – both recommendations from Dame Margaret.

When this public servant – the term suits her so well – finally chooses to retire, she can do so knowing the profound effect she has had on the ethics of important parts of New Zealand life. She helped bring compassion to psychiatric hospitals, she redirected the efforts of social welfare agencies to work with entire families, she reformed the unionised nonsense that was the NZ Fire Service, and then administered a hefty kick to the New Zealand Police.

She might be hoping now, however, that she doesn't need a legally aided defence lawyer in a hurry ...

- © Fairfax NZ News

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