Collins Judith: Victims of Crime Reform Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCollins Judith: Victims of Crime Reform Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 05 March 2014. Volume:696;Page:16392. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice): This bill the Victims of Crime Reform Bill is an omnibus bill in four parts amending the Victims’ Rights Act 2002 the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989 the Parole Act 2002 and the Sentencing Act 2002. The proposals will strengthen existing legislation for victims of crime. Agencies working with victims will be made more accountable and responsive to victims’ needs.This bill supports the Government’s work programme to reduce the impact of crime on victims. This programme includes our Victims’ Orders Against Violent Offenders Bill the Parole Amendment Bill the Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Bill the Objectionable Publications and Indecency Legislation Bill and the Harmful DigitalCommunications Bill—all of which will put victims first. Our Better Public Services targets also focus on identifying victims who are at high risk of repeat victimisation and providing them with specialist services and support to help keep them safe.This Government continues to work on a range of initiatives to provide additional support to victims. We have introduced the sexual violence court victims adviser service in courts around New Zealand and the offender levy which funds 15 entitlements and services for victims of serious offences and have enacted the Crimes Amendment Act (No 3) to strengthen offences related to violence against children. A victim centre has been established in the Ministry of Justice to purchase services and support for victims of serious crime oversee victims’ rights and services and act as the Government’s central point of coordination for victims’ issues.I commend the Justice and Electoral Committee for its thorough consideration of this bill and the sensible amendments it proposed. The committee received 34 written submissions and heard 12 oral submissions. A number of the oral submissions were from victims of crime and their families and I want to thank those people for their courage and their willingness to share their experiences with the excellent committee chaired by Mr Scott Simpson MP.I note that most submitters supported the bill stating that it marks a positive step forward for advancing victims’ rights. Some submitters thought that it did not go far enough to address victims’ needs in the criminal justice system. Others commented that further changes are needed to the system itself.It is important to note that New Zealand has an adversarial system. The Crown prosecutes the accused in a fair and open court to ensure just convictions in the interests of society. The bill appropriately preserves the requirement for a balanced and independent prosecution while acknowledging the need for a system that is more transparent and responsive to victims’ needs. The Victims Code required through the bill and the victim impact statement guidelines being developed will help manage this balance and will clarify victims’ rights and entitlements.The committee made a number of recommendations to widen the support provided to victims and to improve processes to better address victims’ needs and wishes. Part 1 of the bill amends the Victims’ Rights Act 2002 to ensure victims are better informed of their rights improves the functions of the victims notification system and widens the scope of what victims may say in their victim impact statement.Improvements to victim notification will increase requirements to ensure agencies have up-to-date information to notify victims. Further amendments recommended by the committee will improve notification for victims of crimes committed by perpetrators who are detained in facilities other than prisons. This will ensure that victims are informed when the perpetrator reaches a stage in their treatment that involves reintegration into the community.Part 2 of the bill amends the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989 to ensure that victims’ rights in the adult criminal jurisdiction are applied in the youth justice jurisdiction. A core feature of this is increasing the support of victims at hearings of Youth Court which is currently a closed court. The Justice and Electoral Committee also recommended that victims and their representatives be entitled to bring support persons to Youth Court hearings rather than having to seek prior permission from the judge.Part 3 of the bill amends the Parole Act 2002 to ensure that victims are informed about an offender being considered for release on parole and about how they can participate effectively in the parole hearing process. The bill will restore rights and entitlements that were inadvertently removed by the Parole Amendment Act 2007.Part 4 of the bill amends the Sentencing Act 2002 to enable victims to be compensated for losses not covered by ACC and to provide more opportunities for victims to participate in restorative justice. Restorative justice provisions have been improved to focus on the wishes of the victim. Evidence shows that restorative justice can result in positive outcomes for victims and offenders and it is a further opportunity for victims to actively participate in proceedings. However restorative justice will not be appropriate or desirable for some victims and it is important that individual needs are taken into account. The committee recommended that the victim’s wishes be specifically included in any inquiry into restorative justice.I believe that the amendments recommended by the committee effectively acknowledge the concerns raised by submitters. Once again I would like to thank the committee members and their chair for the work that they have done on this bill. I commend this bill to the House.