Wellington High Court first for security barrier upgrade

Thursday, 4 June 2026

After attempts to climb over a security barrier at the High Court in Wellington a new type of barrier has been installed, the first of nearly 20 expected to be rolled out in courts around the country.

The scene of some of Wellington’s most high-profile court dramas has had a security upgrade, following uproar in the court when attempts were made to storm the body of the court.

The toughened security glass barrier is taller than the last one at the High Court in Wellington’s main jury trial courtroom .

Its upper edge rolls towards the public gallery giving little to grip to climb it and no frame to use as a foothold.

The retrial of Mark Lundy, for the murder of his wife and daughter, took place in 2015 in the largest of Wellington High Court’s jury trial courtrooms, with the old, framed barrier behind the dock. (File photo)

It is the first of 19 to be installed in courts across the country.

Ministry of Justice deputy secretary of corporate services, Kelvin Watson, said the design was being refined and adapted to suit each courtroom.

In February 2024 uproar inside the largest High Court room spilled out on to the street which was closed while order was restored. (File photo)

The barrier design was the work of consultants with input from judges and key health, safety and security staff.

Watson said the barriers to be installed in the other courts would be subject to a competitive tender process and costs would not be disclosed because they were commercially sensitive.

In 2007, with the dock and the framed barrier behind them, Department of Corrections officers were taking no chances at the sentencing of two-time murderer Graeme Burton, even though by that time he was an amputee and in a wheelchair. (File photo)

The barriers aimed to improve security, separating the gallery where members of the public sit, from the body of the court where the judge, lawyers, defendants and juries sit.

They were part of broader security measures that included risk assessments and the use of security staff, Watson said.

In February 2024 uproar broke out in the courtroom when defendants appeared charged after the shooting of two men in the Hutt Valley, leading to an investigation into the cause of the incident.

The defendants were in the dock immediately in front of the barrier and as they left the court one person climbed on the barrier from the packed public gallery, leaning over while a security officer tried to dissuade him.

Another person tried to barge his way past a security officer standing in front of locked doors.

Neither man managed to reach the body of the court but the 2m barrier shook as people banged on it.