Third Readings

I rise to take a call on the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill and associated bills in their third and final reading. The laws governing criminal procedure are now over 50 years old and well out of date. The current criminal procedure system has been characterised by four key areas.

The first area is avoidable delays. We know that if court cases are drawn out to create problems for everybody in the system, you create problems for the victim, and the victim has the agony of the court case being drawn out. There are also problems for the defendant, and all defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Delays also create problems for the juries. People have busy lives that are interrupted and they are paid a minimum attendance fee to participate in our justice system. When there are excessive delays because of these inefficiencies, then people are less likely to be supportive.

The second area is excessive complexity. With legislation being spread across several statutes and seven different categories of offence, it was described by the Law Commission as an impenetrable maze.

Excessive cost is the third area, and that excessive cost is caused by inefficiencies. Wherever we can within the Public Service, this Government is keen to ensure that we reduce those inefficiencies to make sure that things are done right and they are done properly, but also that they are done efficiently. Our court system had problems, which meant that the court cases took longer, and we have an obligation to New Zealand to reduce those costs.

The fourth and last area is a reliance on paper-based systems. It does not make sense in a modern era, increasingly dominated by electronic technology, that we would not modernise that system. In response to such concerns, this Government passed the Criminal Procedure Act in 2011 and its 14 associated amendment Acts in October of 2011 to modernise and simplify criminal procedure. Reforming criminal procedure makes the justice system more responsive to the needs of victims and witnesses. Again, this is another milestone in National’s commitment to overhaul the justice system and focus on victims.

In summarising, and finally, this has been a thorough process involving key stakeholders like the Law Commission, with the Associate Minister of Justice setting out some real changes in our justice system that will improve it considerably, including the changes made in Supplementary Order Paper 233. The reforms created in this legislation have the potential to free up 10,000 court sitting hours, with 31,200 fewer court events, 300 to 500 fewer jury trials, and a 6 to 9-week reduction in the average time to complete a jury trial. There was some controversy over this legislation in the sense that it provided a regulatory power that is commonly known at the “Henry VIII” clause, which is a power to make regulations that amend statutes. The Justice and Electoral Committee and the Minister involved, Chester Borrows, agreed that this was inappropriate, and it was taken out.

This legislation has progressed with a thorough process. It has been properly researched and carefully planned, and it will make a real difference. These reforms will ensure that a timely justice system is delivered for victims, witnesses, defendants, and the community. I commend these nine bills arising from the Criminal Procedure Legislation Bill to the House.

Bills read a third time.