I   want   this   morning   to   consider   these   weighty   matters   on   a   different   plane.   I   am persuaded that the greatest challenge for those of  us who live, work and operate in the Pacific   (and   I   include   Australia   and   New   Zealand   within   that   classification),   is guaranteeing that the promise of the rule of law, and the protection of human rights and individual liberty is attainable for, and accessible to, all people. My   involvement   in   the   Courts   of   this   country   for   nearly   a   decade,   adding   to   my experience as a long-term trial Judge in New Zealand and coupled with what we learned in  the  New  Zealand  Law  Commission  during  a  lengthy  assessment  of  Courts  and Tribunals,  leaves  me  in  no  doubt  that  there  are  recurrent  problems  with  the  extent  to which  individuals  see  Courts  as  being  relevant  in  their  lives.    This  is  so  whether  they live  in  a  small  South  Pacific  Island  territory  or  nation,  or  in  Australia.  When dragged into the Court’s purview by others, people find themselves in an environment in which they are unable to participate. When they need assistance they do not see the Courts as an available avenue, or feel unable to go there.   I have no radical solution for these very real perceptions and the associated problems, but recognition of the reality rather than apathetic denial would be a valuable first step. We  cannot  ignore  the  constant  refrain  that  the  legal  systems  as  we  operate  them  are alien and alienating for most of our citizens. When disputes go to Court, the process is seen as too slow, too costly, and unresponsive to the need for individuals to be able to tell their story and have it heard and understood. There  are  a  multitude  of  perspectives  or  angles  which  we  could  consider.  I  want  to identify just four today which create particular problems and which, unless we seriously