Dunstan v Ministry of Social Development

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TĀMAKI MAKAURAU ROHE

CIV-2022-404-1871

[2023] NZHC 840

BETWEEN
TANYA FELICITY DUNSTAN

Appellant

AND

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Respondent

Hearing: On the papers at Auckland

Judgment:

21 April 2023

JUDGMENT (NO.4) OF POWELL J

[Further Request for Transcript]

This judgment was delivered by me on 21 April 2023 at 12.00 pm pursuant to R 11.5 of the High Court Rules

…………………..
Registrar/Deputy Registrar

Solicitors: Crown Law

Copy to:
T F Dunstan

TANYA FELICITY DUNSTAN v MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT [2023] NZHC 840 [21 April 2023]

[1] Ms Dunstan has previously requested a transcript of the hearing that took place on 18 November 2022. The request was declined for the reasons set out in my judgment.1

[2] Ms Dunstan has now by way of an omnibus application sought production of transcripts on a variety of proceedings including this one.

[3] The present application differs slightly from Ms Dunstan’s earlier application in that she appears to request the Court provide some sort of listening facility so that she can listen to the recording of the hearing and identify which parts of that transcripts she wishes to have transcribed by the Court. She bases this request on a decision of Mallon J in Re Harder where this procedure was directed in the circumstances of that case.2

[4] Notwithstanding that, in the Harder decision Mallon J reached the conclusion that it was appropriate for a transcript to be prepared using the process described, there is nothing in Ms Dunstan’s memorandum to provide any basis for revisiting my earlier conclusion that Ms Dunstan has not provided any good reason for the production of a transcript in this case. As a result, her latest request, whether considered as a fresh request or an application to recall my earlier decision, is accordingly declined.

Powell J

1 Dunstan v Ministry of Social Development (No.2) [2022] NZHC 3537.
2 Re Harder [2023] NZHC 620, at [21]–[22].

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of Tanya Felicity Dunstan, the appellant, versus the Ministry of Social Development, the respondent, the High Court of New Zealand Auckland Registry was presented with an appeal regarding the refusal to provide a transcript of a hearing from 18 November 2022. The appellant, Ms Dunstan, had previously sought the transcript, which was declined by the court. Ms Dunstan subsequently made an omnibus application requesting transcripts from various proceedings, including the aforementioned hearing. She proposed that the court should facilitate a listening session to identify the parts of the hearing to be transcribed, citing a decision by Mallon J in the case of Re Harder.

The legal issues before the court centred on whether the appellant had provided sufficient grounds to warrant the provision of a transcript and whether the proposed method of identifying sections for transcription was appropriate. The court had to consider the precedent set in the case of Re Harder, where a similar procedure was directed, and evaluate if Ms Dunstan's situation warranted a deviation from the previous decision to decline her request for a transcript.

In its judgment, the court found that while Mallon J had directed a similar procedure in Re Harder, there was no evidence presented by Ms Dunstan to justify revisiting the earlier decision to deny her request for a transcript. The court concluded that the request for a transcript was not substantiated by any good reason, and thus, the application to produce a transcript, whether considered afresh or as a recall of the earlier decision, was declined. This judgment was delivered on 21 April 2023.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established