In early September I (Tracey-RJSOC Manager) attended the National Mediation Conference in Wellington and participated in a panel discussion on Restorative Practice in Aotearoa. The panel discussion was facilitated by Jane Bolitho (Diana Unwin Chair in Restorative Justice at Victoria University of Wellington) and focused mostly on the recommendations from the recent Ministry of Justice pre-sentence Restorative Justice service review. While most of the conference delegates were from Australia there was a strong interest in how Restorative Justice works in Aotearoa. I’m really grateful to have had this opportunity to connect with our colleagues across the wider dispute resolution sector and left the conference feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future of Restorative Justice services across the country.

Photo of Panel members: L-R, Jeremy Simons (Senior Research Fellow, Te Ngapara Centre for Restorative Justice at Vic Uni), Penny Shand (MOJ), Me, Jane Bolitho (Leads the Te Ngapara Centre for Restorative Justice), Taylor Hill (was with Nga Kete in Invercargill, now a Senior Advisor for NZ Police), Jean Staples (Auckland RJ), Mary Slater (Community Law Wellington)