Memorial to nobody

The Ministry of Justice has come under fire for building a $300,000 memorial to a dead judge without making clear who it is for. The drama has entangled the chief justice of the Supreme Court and caused the minister of justice to wade in. The memorial to Justice Sir Robert Chambers was commissioned by thenminister of justice Amy Adams in 2016 after Chambers’ sudden death in 2013. The $342,888 garden, which sits outside the High Court at Auckland, was completed earlier this year with a small grass patch, a bench, and large stone plinth with an inscription of Justice Chambers’ name. However, shortly after its completion, the plinth was covered up until late last month where it was revealed again – without an inscription. Stuff revealed in July there were rumours the Supreme Court chief justicet, Dame Sian Elias, was not happy with the memorial. Yesterday, Radio NZ reported that she has asked the ministry’s chief executive, Andrew Bridgeman, to remove the ‘‘inappropriate’’ plinth.