The Ministry creates a fairer and safer New Zealand by providing safer communities and a more credible and more effective justice system. The Ministry’s primary role is to provide advice to the Minister and Associate Ministers of Justice and government. It provides briefing papers to Ministers, policy papers to Cabinet, and support to the Justice and Electoral, Law and Order, and Maori Affairs Select Committees. The Ministry is made up of four groups: the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Group, the Public Law Group, the Chief Electoral Office, and the Office of Treaty Settlements. The government has made improvements in the justice sector over the past 3 years by passing new Sentencing and Parole acts ensuring more consistent sentencing. Other recent legislation has improved the rights of victims so that their needs are addressed and has given victims a greater opportunity to be involved in the justice system throughout the process. Treaty settlements continue to be resolved at a steady pace. Three settlements were finalized last year. The government has removed the barriers that give the Crown immunity from prosecution through the Crown Organizations (Criminal Liability) Act. Key work in future commitments includes ensuring communities are adequately protected from crime; ensuring justice sector agencies work more cohesively; enhancing the structure and operations of courts; modernizing areas of family, commercial, and medico-legal law to better reflect changing community needs; and making legal processes simpler to decrease justice costs and timeframes.