Minister of Justice and Courts Amy Adams announced on Monday that Cabinet had agreed to spend $15 million to earthquake strengthen, restore and upgrade Dunedin's 113-year-old courthouse, so it could "operate as modern court facilities''.
Negotiations between the Waitaki District Council and the ministry about the future of Oamaru's courthouse, which may see the council take control of the building, are continuing.
"Until this latest announcement, it looked like we were going to get a solution and they [Dunedin] were going to be left waiting,'' Mr Kircher said yesterday.
The possibility the council could buy Oamaru's 132-year-old courthouse, strengthen it and lease it back to the Ministry of Justice for court use was his preferred solution as it put Oamaru in "the driving seat''.
"Getting the building and controlling its future on our terms is better for our community.
"The reality with court services is they will change over time. The longer-term need for court services in Oamaru may indeed alter. You can't just assume that we will always need a courthouse and that the Government will always have it.
"It allows us to take some control now rather than having to do things later on.''
The Oamaru courthouse was closed in November 2011. Criminal court was transferred to Timaru briefly, and in March 2012 was transferred to the Oamaru Opera House.
In August 2014, it was relocated to a porta-court borrowed from Christchurch and situated in Humber St where it remains.
A 2013 Ministry of Justice estimate for the cost of strengthening work at the Oamaru courthouse was between $1million and $2million - too high for a court that operated less than a day a week on average, the ministry said.
An independent report commissioned by Oamaru lawyer Bill Dean put the cost of strengthening the building to a new-building standard closer to $350,000.
Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean disputed the Ministry of Justice's estimate for the Oamaru courthouse strengthening, and welcomed news of the project to restore courthouse services to Dunedin.
"I am glad for Dunedin. I think it's a big win for them and I am expecting the same sort of win for Oamaru.
"I'm glad to see that the Ministry of Justice has shown a commitment to court services in the lower half of the South Island.''
Mrs Dean remained "very concerned'' courthouse services in Oamaru continued to run from a temporary structure borrowed from Christchurch.
"For me, it was acceptable for a temporary court structure to serve Christchurch out of the earthquakes - it is not acceptable for the people of Oamaru to have a porta-court.''
Mr Kircher did not expect a decision to be made about Oamaru's courthouse until next year.
