Grigg Nicola; Dean JacquiNICOLA GRIGG (National—Selwyn): Madam Speaker thank you. It's difficult at this stage in the evening to think of anything new or original to say on this bill but suffice to say that I too rise in support of the Rights for Victims of Insane Offenders Bill. As has been canvassed this evening this bill will rename the verdict of not guilty on account of insanity" with the verdict "proven but insane" therefore acknowledging and confirming the offender did commit the action in question and also ensuring victims of legally insane offenders are treated the same as other victims of crime.As I'm sure this House will acknowledge National has a long and proven track record of creating legislation that is victim-centric and puts them first and this is another example of that. So I acknowledge my colleague the Hon Louise Upston for her work in bringing this piece of legislation to the House and for her advocacy as it's progressed. As has also been discussed huge credit must also go to the many victims families and advocates who appeared before the Justice Committee. It takes a certain amount of mettle to propose and advocate for a law change. I think we'd all acknowledge these things don't tend to happen quickly. In fact I understand it's taken 12 years since Graeme Moyle first walked into Louise's Cambridge office for this bill to make it this far. But the tireless efforts of people like Graeme and their willingness to share some pretty horrendous deeply personal experiences must also be acknowledged.As is so often the case in life words matter. They really matter when a victim is told that the person who offended against them is not guilty for whatever reason and they are left with the impression that the court has found no crime has occurred despite having been proven by evidence. It may seem nuanced to some but the word change recognising an offender committed a criminal act is a small form of closure for some victims. So too will this bill increase the rights of victims. For too long victims of offences committed by insane offenders have not had access to the same kinds of support as other victims. This has been a longstanding unfairness in our justice system.In 2019 and 2020 40 people were found not guilty by reason of insanity. That's 40 different families 40 different groups of friends and 40 different communities who have been left with a sour taste in their mouths who have had their loved one grievously harmed or killed but that has somehow been discounted in the eye of the law. Now I referred a moment ago to these changes giving victims of crimes committed by insane offenders the same rights as victims of other crimes. With the passage hopefully of this bill they will be entitled to give a victim impact statement to the court. Further to that victims will also be notified if and when an insane offender is being released from a secure health facility and back into the community. Thirdly and thankfully victims will have a right to make a submission to the Mental Health Review Tribunal assessing an insane offender's condition prior to being released just as other victims can submit to the parole board before criminals are released from prison back into the public.As has also been discussed there have been a number of examples where victims of crime have been horrified to learn the perpetrator of that crime has been released back into their own community without any advance notice. That does not put the victim first let alone show them any sensitivity or respect. This law will. So to conclude my comments it is excellent to see cross-party consensus on advancing a piece of legislation that will improve the rights of victims and will create consistency for those victims. May I too commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): A five-minute call—Greg O'Connor."