te Heuheu Georgina: Courts and Criminal Matters Bill — Second Reading 
te Heuheu Georgina: Courts and Criminal Matters Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:668;Page:15348] 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (Minister for Courts) 
: 
 I move  
That the Courts and Criminal Matters Bill be now read a second time 
. 
This omnibus bill amends the District Courts Act 1947 the Land Transport Act 1998 the Sentencing Act 2002 the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 and consequentially amends 16 other Acts. The Law and Order Committee has examined the bill and recommends that it be passed with amendments. I would like to thank the members of the committee for returning this bill to the House in a very timely manner. 
This bill presents a comprehensive set of legislative improvements for the recovery of unpaid fines reparations and civil debt. It addresses a number of issues including a general concern about the levels of overdue fines the dissatisfaction of victims when offenders do not pay their reparation and the difficulties of creditors and debtors using the courts’ civil debt enforcement processes. 
At 31 October 2010 $711 million of fines and reparations remained unpaid. That is $67 million less than I reported during the first reading of this bill in May 2010. The reduction is due to a combination of factors—increased payments and increased remittals the efforts of the collections unit of the Ministry of Justice acting on behalf of the District Court and the Government’s policy changes in 2009 in response to illegal street racing. 
Nevertheless for monetary penalties to be a credible sanction further improvements are necessary. The new initiatives contained in this bill are aimed at encouraging people to contact the court to resolve their fines and reparations in a sustainable manner. The three major initiatives are: driver licence stop orders credit reporting and super priority. 
The first new initiative is the introduction of driver licence stop orders contained in Part 2 which amends the Land Transport Act 1998. Traffic offences make up approximately 93 percent of all infringement penalties imposed each year and 99 percent of all overdue infringement penalties filed at court for enforcement. A driver licence stop order will enable the court to suspend any driver licence held by an individual with overdue traffic fines. The suspension will remain in place until suitable payment arrangements are made. The Law and Order Committee recommends an amendment to the service provisions to include electronic service which will also allow for future developments in technology. 
The second new enforcement measure is credit reporting contained in Part 3 which amends the Summary Proceedings Act 1957. Credit reporting will enable information on overdue fines and reparations to be released to the private sector credit-reporting system. This will provide incentives for defendants to pay overdue fines and reparations so that their credit worthiness is not affected. Credit reporting will also enable the information provided by the credit-reporting industry to the Ministry of Justice—for example updated address information—to be used to collect fines. The Law and Order Committee recommends changes to clause 69 to better align the provisions relating to the release of information with current credit industry practices. After considering a report by the Regulations Review Committee the Law and Order Committee also recommends amendments to strengthen the existing privacy provisions to clarify that the credit-reporting function is subject to the Privacy Act 1993. 
The third major initiative super priority is also contained in Part 3. This tool will ensure that the court has priority over a secured party for the sale of proceeds of seized goods where the amount of overdue fines was or could have been disclosed by a formal credit report by the ministry. The Law and Order Committee has recommended an amendment to clause 70 to reduce the risk of secured parties relying on out-of-date credit reports. A further amendment removes the requirement for secured parties to present the credit report from the ministry within 3 working days. This change will align the legislative requirements with the current practices of the credit industry. 
These three new initiatives are intended to encourage people with outstanding fines to enter into manageable repayment arrangements with the objective of ensuring that fines remain an effective sanction for breaches of the law. 
Reparation is an important aspect of sentencing. Reparation lessens the financial impact of offending on the victim. In addition when it relates to an offer to make amends by the offender it can also provide an opportunity for the offender to demonstrate a degree of remorse or at least acceptance of responsibility. This bill confirms the priority for the collection of reparations and strengthens the consequences of not paying. Offenders can receive significant sentencing discounts for reparation especially when the reparation is for a significant amount and relates to an offer to make amends. If however the reparation is later deemed to be uncollectable the offender cannot be resentenced for the original offence. This bill removes the current restriction on resentencing an offender who cannot pay reparation. 
Last year the Vehicle Confiscation and Seizure Bill amended the Sentencing Act 2002 and the Summary Proceedings Act 1957. This current bill will align the applicable property seizure provisions with the vehicle seizure provisions. The Law and Order Committee recommended a change to the definition of leases in order to recognise that leased property does not belong to the fines defaulter. 
Part 1 of the bill amends the District Courts Act 1947 to improve the civil enforcement process. Civil debt enforcement can be complex cumbersome and costly for the parties involved. This bill will enable a court registrar to examine a judgment debtor on behalf of the judgment creditor and to make attachment orders which are key enforcement tools more easily accessible. The changes to the civil enforcement system will improve the experience of users of the service and will also free up resources needed to support the courts’ enforcement processes. 
The development of the reforms in this bill commenced in 2004 with the review of the infringement system which was undertaken by the Ministry of Justice and the Law Commission. I acknowledge the work undertaken by my predecessor the former Minister for Courts the Hon Rick Barker. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Whatever happened to him? 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU 
: I do not know—he sits in the Speaker’s Chair. 
When I became the Minister for Courts in November 2008 I was pleased to continue his work. It is important work. Initial legislative reforms were made through the Government’s response to the problem of illegal street racing in 2009. This bill extends and expands those reforms. 
I thank all those members of the public who made submissions on the bill. They included a number of participants in the credit industry who were able to provide insights into current practices. I appreciate the examination of the bill by the Law and Order Committee and acknowledge the contribution of the Regulations Review Committee. I also thank those Government departments that have assisted the Ministry of Justice both in providing advice to the Law and Order Committee in this case the Ministry of Transport the New Zealand Transport Agency and the New Zealand Police and in developing the bill especially the Office of the Privacy Commissioner the Department of Corrections and the Ministry of Economic Development. The bill has also benefited considerably from the skills of the Parliamentary Counsel Office. 
Looking forward the new initiatives contained in the bill are designed to encourage individuals to proactively resolve their fines rather than punish them for incurring the fines in the first place. The new initiatives progressed through the bill are aimed at encouraging people to make sustainable and affordable arrangements with the court in order to resolve their fines and reparations. The changes to the civil system will provide better outcomes to judgment creditors and judgment debtors alike. The civil system will be transformed into a more efficient and responsive system for all involved. I intend to introduce a Supplementary Order Paper in the Committee stage to enhance this bill. I commend this bill to the House.