Collectively they have served the community for almost 300 years and we thank them individually for their many years of voluntary service...

The past weeks have been dominated by elections both in New Zealand and the USA. The NZ election result may have surprised many – not that the result of a re-elected Labour government was really a surprise but the size of the majority was to most of the experts who confidently predicted that no single party would get an outright majority under MMP. 

Likewise, the USA election was dominated by two candidates who projected totally opposing styles and ideologies. The Democrats were expected to win in a landslide but the reality is that a relatively small number of votes separated the candidates in key states and the country remains firmly divided along partisan lines.

After a year of constant challenges, upsets, lockdowns and despair for many – most of us are hoping that Covid-19 and 2020 will become a distant memory as we enter 2021 but the reality is different – some of the challenges of 2020 will no doubt continue into 2021 and Covid-19 will remain a part of our lives even if a vaccine arrives soon.

Many of you are facing personal challenges in the weeks and months ahead and I wish you the peace, hope and joy that even a difficult Christmas can bring. Even in times of isolation, we are never really alone – especially if we have family and good friends around us.

New Justices
While no new Justices have been appointed since September we have two new members to welcome. Glen Cameron has transferred in from the Ashburton Association and Alistair Graham has re-joined CJPA after spending several years in Australia. Please make them feel welcome when the opportunity arises.

Retirements
These Justices have recently retired from active service as Justices of the Peace – Derek Banks (42), Carole Evans (34), Jillian Wadsworth (21), Andrew Lea (34), Robert Eathorne (46), Barry Straight (23), Lenore Barrow (29), Kelvin Turner (24), Roger Murdoch (23) and Wendy Keown (15). 

Collectively they have served the community for almost 300 years and we thank them individually for their many years of voluntary service and wish them well in their retirement. Some have also resigned from CJPA and the others remain Retired Members. Most of the recently retired Justices have applied for JP (Retired) status and I look forward to presenting them with their certificates and badges in the not too distant future.

Obituaries
Life Member and previous Registrar Peter Berry JP (Retired) died on the 7th October 2020 and the Association was well represented at his funeral service. His passing was also noted at the AGM on the 31st October.   Ian Hoskin JP (Retired) also died in October and we acknowledge their significant contributions as Justices of the Peace and extend our sincere condolences to their families.

Certificates
I am pleased to report that almost all the JP (Retired) certificates and badges have now been presented and it has been a delight to meet the many long-serving JPs, to personally thank them and their partners for their many, many years of service to their communities. The husband of one long-serving JP was especially delighted to be thanked for his 30 plus years of support he gave to his wife and he appreciated the acknowledgement for the disruption to their family life that most JPs experience.

The 30 and 40 years MOJ Long Service Certificates are now reduced to 3 awaiting presentation and we are still working through the list of CJPA 20 year certificates – only 90 odd to go!

2021 Judicial Studies Course
We congratulate Simon McDermott, Simon Moore and John Skipper who have all been accepted for the 2021 Judicial Studies Course and we wish them well as they undertake the course. The selection process was intensive and the Royal Federation made the final decision on the 26th of November.

CJPA Council 2020/2021
At the AGM on the 31st October, an election was held for the 4 Councillor positions and we congratulate Gwen Mitchell, Neville Brown and Rod Paton who were re-elected and Neil Falconer who joins the Council for the first time.   Elected unopposed were President Graeme Barber and Vice President Adrienne Sears.  Past President BJ. Clark, Treasurer Garth Dale and Registrar Ken Shields make up the CJPA Council for 2020/2021. Their contact details are listed on the website.

Royal Federation Southern Regional Representative
I am pleased to advise that our President Graeme Barber has been elected unopposed to the Board of the Royal Federation as the Southern Regional Representative. He takes up the position at the RF AGM in Wellington in February 2021 and he will represent the 8 southern associations. We congratulate him as he takes over the role from Lindsay Dow.

Bail Bonds Team
John Syme recently retired from the Bail Bonds team. John has willingly given his time to the roster since 2015 to administer the Bail Bonds in the District Court. The Canterbury Justice of the Peace Association thanks John for this service to the community.

At the presentation to John, Phil Miles (District Court Manager) commented that the Christchurch District Court is the only one in the country where the Bail Bonds are administered by JPs, and the court staff are very appreciative of the work they do.

Finally – summer arrives on the 1st of December and we have had a few touches of it in the past few weeks – but not a lot. November used to be a month of hot dry nor-westers but not so much this year. I have used my heat pump and winter clothes more than I wanted to and I look forward with eager anticipation to the hot dry summer they promised. At least I haven’t needed to water the garden during the past week (and the rain has just started again)!

If you are able - have a great Christmas, and a safe and relaxing holiday period.

Ken Shields JP
Registrar