Leary IngridINGRID LEARY (Labour—Taieri): Fḁiåk se'ea Madam Speaker. Just a big Rotuman fḁiåk se'ea—thank you—to you and also to the Hon Louise Upston in being able to take a call on this the Rights for Victims of Insane Offenders Bill. I'm saying fḁiåk se'ea" in the Rotuman language just for the benefit of those Halfmoon Bay students up in the gallery that it is Rotuman Language Week and I say fḁiåk se'ea that we can speak the many languages of Aotearoa New Zealand in this House—long may it continue—but also to all the members involved in getting this bill through showing the sensitivity and the collaboration that they have. It is legislatively important and it's a difficult piece of law as has been pointed out and really about trying to get the equivalent treatment for the survivors of violent crime. I say "survivors" because I still have difficulty with calling people victims. I know that our criminal justice system is littered with the word "victims"; however it doesn't pay heed to the incredible strength and resilience of those people who have for whatever reason been at the hands of violence or other events and who have managed to get through that. So that word I find difficult. I realise it's a legal word as is the word "insane" and that's been pointed out as well. The blunt tool that it is it captures a multiplicity of experiences for individuals but really is a legal definition and speaks to the inability of the person who has been charged with being able to form the mens rea or the legal intention. So I hope that with the nomenclature or the title of this bill that we are not furthering the stigma that can be associated with these really tricky convergences of mental health and legal areas.I have spoken in this House before of my own experience of violent crime when my ex-boyfriend Paul Anderson was stabbed to death as he went to collect his pay from work at the hands of double-murderer Graeme Burton. So I can speak with some experience about the trauma that I know that those who presented to the select committee would have experienced in their generous act of making presentations to make this a better piece of legislation. May I also in this moment please just turn my attention to my own electorate of Taieri in Dunedin where there has also been a stabbing and remind people—anybody—who has been triggered by anything that is said in this House tonight or by the events in Dunedin that there is a 1737 phone number that they can use to reach out for help. It is so generous of those people who submitted to the select committee and I'm not on it but I did take time to read some of the submissions. I saw that the Victim Support group in February this year really summed up pre-emptively what they knew was going to be in the accounts of those statements which is that victims have no right to make a victim impact statement in the current law they have no say on the leave or release of the offender and they have little ability even to be kept informed. That submission goes on to say that this legislation will give victims the ability to have a say in decisions about their case which have a huge impact on their own safety and wellbeing. We are a Government that is committed to wellbeing so it is no surprise that we stand in solidarity with all other members of this House who are supporting this bill through.We heard tonight too about the financial implications from a woman who was affected by bloodstained carpet in her own home and it was pointed out that actually legally the insurance company was supposed to pay that. However I'd just like to point to the re-traumatising for that person who did not have—by virtue of her status as a victim and the fact that it wasn't deemed to be a criminal act—any ability to be able to change that constant daily reminder of the terrible violence that she experienced. So as my colleague Arena Williams has pointed out what this bill does is really make it crystal clear that those people should be compensated and given the same rights as victims of other crimes. As has been noted every member of the Justice Committee acknowledged the current double standard in the law.Just turning again to those brave submitters—those people who survived rape assault; there was somebody who had hot water scalded on them. Not only have they helped the law but in my view they have also through their bravery helped to reduce the stigma that victims so often face in our society. This is especially so when it has come to sexual attacks. For them to share their experiences share their names and share their stories is an act of complete generosity. So thank you to them.There were considerable changes in the bill as the Hon Louise Upston has said in her opening remarks and indeed the Law Society was one of those who said in its submission that the bill would not achieve the elimination of the double standard between survivors of crime from those who are deemed sane and those who are deemed insane had it not been for those changes. So the key recommendations they made were not to have the two-step process that has been alluded to previously this evening but also they didn't want the bill to unnecessarily or unreasonably limit the offender's right to privacy. This is really important to me. About 30 years ago when I was doing my honours degree at Otago in law I looked at the tort of privacy as it was just an emerging area of law. It wasn't really in any of our legislation and it is an increasingly important right that we must preserve and protect in this digital world. So putting aside whether it is seen on the surface to be protecting the privacy of different types of people we must actually look at the principle of privacy and make sure that when we are encroaching on that that it is reasonable and that it is fair. So I'm really pleased that the select committee found the right line in that and that they have not allowed the release of clinical notes but they have also allowed enough information to be released to alleviate the anxieties that relate to the whereabouts of some of the people who have been detained. So it has been a fine balancing act indeed and I commend the select committee for what I think looks like a really good job. I think also it shows this House working at its best when a really well-intentioned bill can come before the House shepherded by a member passionately needing a lot of changes but with people working collaboratively to ensure the best possible outcome for all New Zealanders.To sum up I just want to remind the House after the select committee process of what the key changes are from the original bill through to where it stands today. As has been said it's the renaming of the verdict of "not guilty on account of insanity" to "proven but insane". That's the substantial change. There was of course that interim change that was presented in the original bill. It requires notification to the victim when their insane offender is being considered for a leave of absence it gives the victim the right to submit their view to the Minister when an insane offender is being considered for a leave of absence. It requires notification to the victim when the insane offender is being considered for short-term leave. It gives the victim the right to submit their view to the Director of Mental Health when an insane offender is being considered and also to the Mental Health Review Tribunal when it is reviewing a patient's condition.The bill does reflect Labour's values as I've mentioned. It promotes justice and transparency but it also protects the survivors of crime and their communities. So I think just to reiterate this has really been a great process to be able to observe as somebody who did not sit on the select committee but who has an interest in fairness and justice who has experienced the trauma and impacts of being around a very violent crime and then has also seen the way that this House can come together sensitively and look at really complex issues that involve both health and justice the balancing of rights looking at privacy and privacy issues in a changing and evolving digital world looking at how to ensure that people feel safe and can make their victim impact statements and it really shows this House at its best. So fḁiåk se'ea to that fḁiåk s'ea to Ginny Andersen the chair of the select committee and to all those involved in the process. I commend this bill to the House."