te Heuheu Georgina: Courts and Criminal Matters Bill — First Reading 
te Heuheu Georgina: Courts and Criminal Matters Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:663;Page:10988] 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (Minister for Courts) 
: 
 I move  
That the Courts and Criminal Matters Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Law and Order Committee. 
The Courts and Criminal Matters Bill presents the most comprehensive set of legislative improvements for the recovery of unpaid fines reparation and civil debt in 12 years. It addresses a number of issues including a general concern about the levels of overdue fines the dissatisfaction of victims when offenders do not comply with reparation orders and the frustration of creditors and debtors using the court’s civil debt enforcement process. The development of the bill commenced under the previous administration as you know Mr Assistant Speaker Barker and I take this opportunity to acknowledge your work as my predecessor when you were Minister for Courts. The present Government enacted an initial set of reforms to improve fines enforcement last year as part of a package of measures responding to the problem of illegal street racing. The Courts and Criminal Matters Bill extends those measures as well as introducing new initiatives. 
As at 30 April 2010 $778 million worth of fines and reparation remain unpaid. Through the sterling efforts of the staff of the collections unit of the Ministry of Justice on behalf of the courts over recent years and as a result of the Government’s recent policy changes the growth in the level of unpaid monies is slowing. Further improvements are necessary however if monetary penalties are to remain a credible measure to encourage compliance with the law. 
The Courts and Criminal Matters Bill is an omnibus bill that amends 20 statutes. The main statutes to be amended are the District Courts Act 1947 the Land Transport Act 1998 the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 and the Sentencing Act 2002. These amendments will enhance the court’s powers for the collection of fines and reparation and will improve the processes for collecting civil debt. 
The bill contains three major initiatives that will increase the collection of fines and reparation. The first new major initiative introduces driver licence stop orders through an amendment to the Land Transport Act 1998 contained in Part 2 of the bill. This enforcement measure will allow a fines defaulter’s driver’s licence to be suspended when the defaulter fails to maintain payment of outstanding traffic fines. The licence will remain suspended until the defaulter pays the overdue fines or enters into an arrangement to pay the monies owed. Traffic offences make up approximately 99 percent of all infringements filed in the court each year for collection. A driver licence stop order has proved to be a very effective sanction in Australian and Canadian jurisdictions. In Queensland an estimated 50 percent of fines defaulters pay or enter into a payment arrangement with another 25 percent doing so when their licences have been suspended. This measure will create an effective simple but powerful incentive for people to resolve their fines. 
The second new enforcement measure is credit reporting. Under Part 3 which amends the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 credit reporting will enable information on overdue fines and reparation to be released into the private sector credit-reporting system by the Ministry of Justice. The amendment will also enable the Ministry of Justice to use relevant information—for example updated address information from the credit industry—to assist the enforcement responsibilities undertaken by the courts. The bill includes provisions to address the privacy concerns that may arise in relation to the release of such information from the credit-reporting agencies to the Ministry of Justice and from the Ministry of Justice to the credit-reporting agencies. Clause 69 sets out the provisions for the exchanges of information. The Minister for Courts must consult the Privacy Commissioner before recommending any regulations to implement the exchange of information between the Ministry of Justice and the credit-reporting industry; as well the Secretary for Justice is required to monitor compliance with the legislative conditions and to report regularly to the Privacy Commissioner. Fifty-five percent of people with overdue fines owe less than $500. Credit reporting will provide a strong incentive for defaulters to resolve their fines. In addition costly enforcement actions by the courts will be avoided thereby freeing up resources for the Ministry of Justice to concentrate on collecting the more significant penalties. Credit reports will also enable the credit industry to make better more informed decisions about whether to lend money to individuals. This measure is closely linked to the third major initiative. 
The third new measure is super priority which will increase the collection of monetary penalties. This initiative which is also in Part 3 will give the court priority over secured creditors when a person’s overdue fines balance was reasonably discoverable at the time that new credit was granted. Super priority will occur when the court has seized secured property to sell in order to resolve overdue fines. If there were overdue fines at the time that new credit was offered by a provider the court will get priority for an amount up to the value of those outstanding fines. Super priority will provide the credit industry with a strong incentive to request overdue fines information from the Ministry of Justice. It will also help to clarify who is entitled to the funds realised when the property is seized and sold. 
The payment of reparation is an important method of holding offenders to account. Currently offenders may receive a reduced sentence if an offer of reparation is accepted by the court. If the reparation subsequently proves to be uncollectable the offender cannot be resentenced on the original offence. The bill amends the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 to provide for an offender to be resentenced if he or she subsequently cannot pay the reparation. Another change will allow the court to hold an offender in custody for up to 2 hours until a payment plan has been set or any reparation ordered. Payment conditions will be able to be set by court registrars as well as by judges. These changes are designed to assist victims. 
Vehicle confiscation provisions enacted last year by the Vehicle Confiscation and Seizure Bill are further enhanced by amendments to the Sentencing Act 2002 and the Summary Proceedings Act 1957. Appropriate vehicle seizure provisions will be extended to apply to all seized property. For example registrars will be required to search the Personal Property Securities Register for financing statements registered against all seized property instead of seized vehicles only. Ownership of confiscated vehicles will not have to be transferred to the court before the vehicle is sold or disposed of. 
The civil debt enforcement system can be procedurally onerous for creditors and debtors alike. The most common enforcement process requires personal attendance of both parties at a hearing to examine the debtor’s ability to pay a debt. This can be an inconvenience for both parties especially if they live in different parts of the country as the law requires that the hearing be held in the court closest to the debtor. The amendments to the District Courts Act 1947 set out in Part 1 will provide greater flexibility for all parties. For example creditors will be able to request that the court examine the debtor’s means on their behalf. Not only will such changes improve the experience for creditors and debtors but also they will free up resources needed to support the court’s enforcement processes. 
When a person does not comply with the law a monetary penalty is the most common sanction imposed. The Sentencing Act requires the courts to assess a person’s ability to pay before imposing a fine or reparation order ensuring that the penalties imposed are credible. Most monetary penalties are however imposed by way of an infringement notice. Approximately 2.7 million notices are issued each year mostly for traffic offences. Unfortunately 1.1 million notices remain unpaid each year and are filed for enforcement as fines by the court. By agreement with the collections unit of the Ministry of Justice acting on behalf of the courts offenders can tailor their payment arrangements to reflect their ability to pay. Many do so; others do not. This bill will increase the enforcement options available to the court to collect overdue fines and other monetary penalties. 
The three new major enforcement measures are designed to create a strong incentive for people to proactively resolve their overdue fines and reparation. Changes to existing provisions will strengthen the currently available enforcement tools and processes. The bill will also provide creditors and debtors with an enforcement system that is better tailored to their needs. This bill delivers a comprehensive package to enhance the collection of fines reparation and civil debt. I therefore commend this bill to the House.