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In the first instance, it's better if
people can resolve issues between themselves
because that's part of an ongoing pattern
of being able to resolve any issues
that might crop up again in the future.
The next step is that if you and I
are not able to resolve an issue,
then involving a third person, like a mediator
and a mediation service,
will help us to resolve that
in a way that allows us to rebuild our relationship
to at least a working relationship.
The difficulty with going to court is
that most people believe
they'll have their day in court,
that they'll get to talk about what it is
that, you know, they're hurt or upset or worried about.
And, in fact, that's not the case.
The court is there to decide points of law,
not to listen to relationship issues,
not to listen to worries,
not to listen to who's right and wrong
in terms of how people feel.
It's really just a judgement about a right or a wrong.
Personally and professionally,
that'd be my last step in taking someone to court.
Again, if we're going to live there
and be good neighbours
there must be other options available
in sorting out our problems.
Now, whether those problems are noise
or whether they're fencing issues or trees,
there are different ways of working through it.
Talking to the neighbour,
communicating with the neighbour,
understanding where they're coming from
is so, so important.
Trying to take them to court
is probably not going to be the best thing for you
in terms of building
the best relationship between your neighbour.
So what you want to do is try and
defuse the situation as much as possible,
so to try as many other alternatives
such as actually going to them and speaking to them.
Because if you've never actually
spoken to them about the problem,
then you don't know whether they're gonna say yes or no.
Sometimes the alternatives to court are cheaper,
are often quicker,
easier to access.
So giving it a go yourself,
having the confidence to give it a go yourself
and if you don't, getting a friend or a family
or even an advocate, someone who can speak on your behalf,
to help you have those discussions
or help you resolve those things with your neighbour
can be a much, much better way to go.
Resolving it between yourselves
is going to be a much quicker, much cheaper,
much easier way to go forward.
Plus it'll preserve the relationship.
You won't have a neighbour who you never want to see
or who never wants to see you
and who there's tension with
every time you pull up in the driveway.
When it comes to taking the neighbours to court,
the most important thing is thinking about
the ongoing relationship,
the damage that taking your neighbour to court
will do with the ongoing relationship.
There's always going to be some reason
that you'll feel the need
to have some interaction with them.
If they're perhaps making noise at night
and you want to ask them to turn the music down,
do you want to call the police whenever that happens?
Or would you like to be able to raise it the next day
and just say, "I'd really appreciate
"if the noise was down by 10 o'clock
"because I've got a baby and she's asleep."
By escalating the situation to court,
it's almost forcing you to escalate it
to another authority every time.
And if you can resolve it yourself,
you can actually achieve a resolution that's acceptable
to both you and your neighbour today.
If you were to go over and speak to your neighbour
and explain your concerns and listen to their concerns,
then there's every likelihood
that by this afternoon, before you go to bed,
you can actually be comfortable in the knowledge
that you've resolved the dispute.
If you go to court, it's obviously...
..it's a much longer process.