Restorative justice conferencing in a New Zealand environmental offending context : Two models

Environmental offending can impact many aspects of our lives; the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we live upon. Such offending can also impact non-human animals, through injury, death, and habitat loss, and even spiritual connection with the environment. Restorative justice, in the form of conferencing, shows promise in bringing together the affected stakeholders of environmental offending to repair the harm occasioned by that offending, by giving stakeholders voice and input. In this context, New Zealand is home to two models of conferencing: a front-end model, which sees conferencing used as a diversion from prosecution; and a back-end model, which sees conferencing embedded in the prosecution process. Based on extensive research, Hamilton explores both models of restorative justice conferencing and considers critically the offender motives in attending such conferencing.