Criminal justice reform advisory group filled

The group working alongside the justice sector on criminal justice system reform has gained two new members.

Justice Minister Andrew Little said that the appointments of Shila Nair and Quentin Hix to the “Safe and Effective Justice Programme Advisory Group ­– Te Uepū Hāpai i te Ora” add more diversity to the group, which is working on a prudent and realistic scope for the reforms.

“It’s critical that we get this right and having a good mix of experienced experts who also bring valuable cultural context show’s that this government is smart on crime,” he said.

Nair and Hix add value by bringing Indian and Maori expertise and experiences to the advisory group, he said.

“Ms Nair is a counsellor with Auckland based not-for profit group Shakti, where she’s worked for more than 16 years in family violence. She started her career as a volunteer, then moved to managing crisis services, and then became Shakti’s national coordinator.  For the last 10 years Ms Nair has been practicing as a counsellor conducting individual and group therapy,” Little said.

“Mr Hix is director of Quentin Hix legal, a Timaru based firm. Mr Hix is a lawyer with 25 years’ experience in a broad range of legal areas, from commercial, property and relationships. He’s now focussing on criminal law. He also holds significant positions on a number or organisations including director of Ngāi Tahu Holdings Limited,” he said.

Little said that safe and effective justice is mainly about keeping New Zealanders safer though earlier interventions, better responses and greater support to reduce reoffending.