Borrows Chester: Third Readings —Text is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBorrows Chester: Third Readings —[Sitting date: 28 May 2013. Volume:690;Page:10467. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CHESTER BORROWS (Associate Minister of Justice): I moveThat the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill the Auctioneers Amendment Bill the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) the Criminal Disclosure Amendment Bill the Evidence Amendment Bill the Juries Amendment Bill the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill the Sentencing Amendment Bill and the Summary Offences Amendment Bill be now read a third time. The laws governing criminal procedure are now over 50 years old and well out of date. The current criminal procedure system has been characterised by avoidable delay excessive complexity unnecessary costs and a high reliance on paper-based systems that do not make sense in a modern era increasingly dominated by electronic technology. In response to such concerns this Government passed the Criminal Procedure Act in 2011 and its 14 associated amendment Acts in October 2011 to modernise and simplify criminal procedure. They represented the biggest reform and modernisation of the criminal justice procedure in nearly two generations. These Acts consolidated criminal procedure and introduced a comprehensive package of reforms to make the criminal justice procedure more comprehensible and efficient.I would like to note that although this Government passed the legislation the project has had a long gestation spanning more than a decade. Extensive work was undertaken by the Ministry of Justice and the Law Commission in consultation with the legal profession. For much of that time it was under the guidance of the Labour-led Government so I would first like to thank all those involved in the development of these reforms.As I noted at the first reading the reforms have the potential to deliver some significant benefits. They will reduce and streamline victims’ and witnesses’ exposure to the criminal justice system. There will be fewer repeat or unnecessary events in the use of staff time and courthouse capacity will be optimised to ensure that money is spent more effectively. The reforms are part of this Government’s wider programme of modernising the way our courts are run and are expected to result in over 31000 fewer court events per year. It is estimated that they will free up about 10000 court sitting hours each year—about 12 percent of the current total effort in the criminal jurisdiction.The reforms have the potential to take up to 9 weeks off the average time of cases that go to jury trial. The overall reforms have the potential to increase the efficiency of the courts to a value of about $50 million over a 10-year period. The criminal procedure reforms will also have benefits for the defendants’ rights to a fair trial. The legislation achieves a careful balance between moving criminal cases through the court system more quickly and protecting the fundamental rights and safeguards that underpin our justice system.Overall making the court system more timely efficient fair and easy to understand will reduce stress delays costs and inconvenience for everyone—and this includes victims witnesses jurors defendants judges lawyers and court staff and ultimatelythe taxpayer who pays for our court system. It is important to keep in mind the sheer scale of these reforms when considering these bills currently before the House.After enactment but prior to commencement a number of technical issues were identified in the Criminal Procedure Act and related legislation. These nine bills remedy those matters and will ensure that the Criminal Procedure Act and its associated legislation may be fully implemented as intended. Although the Criminal Procedure Legislation Bill was a technical Statutes Amendment Bill type of legislation the amendments included in these bills are important for the coherent implementation of criminal procedure reforms on 1 July this year. Accordingly that stand-alone omnibus bill was promoted.At the first reading Mr Chauvel the then Labour justice spokesperson indicated that his party would support the bill so long as it contained only technical and uncontroversial amendments. Concern was raised by the New Zealand Law Society at select committee about the possibility of a proposed regulation-making power being inappropriately used to make substantive changes to the criminal law. The Justice and Electoral Committee listened and removed the power. Although there were a small number of other concerns raised by the Law Society it was generally supportive of the bill. The committee understood the concerns raised by the society but decided that good reason existed for the other proposed amendments.There was unanimous support for this bill at the select committee and during the second reading. It was recognised that although the individual amendments were small collectively they would provide significant benefit in allowing full implementation of the agreed policy. I am grateful to all parties that have indicated support for this legislation and the constructive manner in which members have deliberated on these reforms. As indicated by the widespread support the legislation has received it is not contentious.As I have indicated to the House on introduction it is technical non-controversial legislation that clarifies and gives full effect to legislation that this House has already approved. It will ensure that the largest criminal procedure reforms in 50 years can be implemented effectively and coherently and that the benefits predicted are fully realised. The criminal procedure reforms when fully implemented will have positive impacts for those who deal with our justice system. As the previous Minister of Justice said at the introduction of the Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill these reforms will ensure that timely justice is delivered for victims witnesses defendants and the community. This legislation will assist in ensuring that these objectives are realised. I commend these nine bills arising from the Criminal Procedure Legislation Bill to the House.