Simon Bridges National MP simonbridges.co.nz

Last Friday was a year to the day since the container ship Rena grounded on the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga. We marked the anniversary in Tauranga at a Maritime NZ event I spoke at.

I will always see Rena as a bad situation none of us created, but that we have all had to deal with as best as possible in the circumstances. I am also firmly of the view that it showed the Bay of Plenty community at its best. Our civic leadership collaborated for the good of everybody and community groups rallied together to help.

At the height of the incident, more than 8000 volunteers were registered to help and more than 1000 tonnes of oily waste was cleared off our precious Bay of Plenty beaches.

We are not there yet with salvage, for example, continuing. But we are a long way from where we started from and that is a good thing indeed.

Focus on reducing crime

We all deserve to feel safe in our homes and communities. National is staying tough on crime, with the latest crime statistics showing another drop in the crime rate, down 5.9 per cent for the June 2012 year.

We put 600 extra police on the beat, and we have invested in rehabilitation and reintegration to reduce reoffending. National has been focusing resources on frontline policing and crime prevention. These initiatives are allowing police to spend more time in their communities.

National has focused the justice system on victims. We've set four better public services targets to help reduce crime, and lead to 45,000 fewer victims by 2017.

We introduced the Offender Levy to fund more services and support for victims of crime, and we have introduced legislation that will reduce unnecessary parole hearings and the stress they cause victims.

We've also delivered on our election promise to better protect the public from serious sexual or violent offenders through the Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Bill, which will allow the High Court to detain these offenders.

Six-monthly data on court appearances and sentencing shows fewer criminal charges are being laid, and fewer people are appearing in court.

With crime falling to record lows, and the number of people coming to court decreasing, we are now working on improving how the country's 63 District Courts are administered, and modernising services to be more in line with public expectations.

We want to move from a system focused on paper and buildings, to one which makes the best use of new technology. Fines can already be paid online, and soon judges will be able to manage criminal cases electronically, meaning charges processed up to 70 per cent faster, and Ministry of Justice staff and Police saving more than 90,000 hours a year.

Changes to the court network, the first for 30 years, will also involve nine small courts being used as hearing-only courts – rather than being open five days a week – and four small courts being closed.

These changes have been made possible by our success in reducing crime and seeing fewer people in our courts, as well as the increased use of modern technology.

National promised to build a safer New Zealand, and we are delivering on that promise.