Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Legal Services Bill — Third Reading 
Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Legal Services Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:671;Page:17785] 
KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National) 
: 
 Before I start my contribution I thank the Hon Rick Barker for his role as Assistant Speaker and I wish him good luck as Labour’s senior whip. 
I am privileged to stand in the third reading of the Legal Services Bill. Legal aid was first provided in New Zealand in 1912 to ensure that people of insufficient means were represented fairly. The National Government intends to make sure that all New Zealanders have access to a high-quality legal system. The Government also wants to ensure that taxpayers’ money is well spent. 
The bill will replace the current Legal Services Act 2000. The review undertaken in 2009 by Dame Margaret Bazley identified that the legal aid system was open to abuse. The review also identified that there were inadequate processes to ensure quality and serious delivery of issues. Last year there were 85156 legal aid grants costing taxpayers $131 million. The clear message was that it was time for fundamental changes. The trouble these days is that offenders know their rights better than they know their mistakes. The Justice and Electoral Committee received 24 submissions from lawyers community law centres and the general public. They all acknowledged the need for reform and recommended many changes to be considered. 
The bill will provide an effective legal aid system that supports the wider justice sector. The legal aid system helps to uphold the principles of and access to justice equality before the law and natural justice which helps to build and maintain public confidence in the legal system. The bill will provide an effective legal aid system that supports the wider justice sector. It will create a system in which taxpayers can have confidence. It will also provide high-quality legal services by capable lawyers. 
The focus of the bill is the reform of the legal service agencies. It transfers accountability for the administration of legal aid to the Secretary for Justice. It creates an independent statutory office that will have an obligation to grant legal aid and ensure the independence of public defence lawyers. 
One of the changes recommended by the select committee that I think is very important is that the Secretary for Justice is required to cancel the approval of any provider who was convicted of an offence that is punishable by imprisonment. That will not only align the provision with the provisions of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 but will also ensure that providers are held to appropriate professional standards and will protect the reputation of the profession. 
Another important change recommended by the select committee is to amend clause 77 by inserting new subclause (3A). This clause requires the Secretary for Justice to provide a reason for declining or giving approval for a provider to provide legal aid or specified legal services. That will make the secretary accountable for his or her decisions. It will create a system in which taxpayers can have confidence and it will provide high-quality legal services by capable professionals. 
Legal aid services are vital to our most vulnerable citizens and the changes made in the bill will make proud the users and the providers of legal aid. We are also confident that the package of changes will help build more public confidence that the legal aid system is providing quality service for those who need it while giving taxpayers value for their money. 
The bill shows that the Hon Simon Power the Minister of Justice has acted speedily to address the issues identified by Dame Margaret’s review. We are confident this package of changes will help build more public confidence in the legal aid system and provide quality service. I support the bill on its third reading. 
Debate interrupted.