Hughes Darren: Bail Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Hughes Darren: Bail Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:537] 
Hon DARREN HUGHES (Labour) 
: 
 I rise to make a small contribution in the Committee stage on clause 2. The reason Labour members feel the need to make sure we are examining each aspect of this legislation is that this is another example of a bill that has not been to a select committee. It was given to the Opposition at a quarter to midnight on Wednesday and its first reading second reading Committee stage and third reading are being rushed through under urgency. So unless we can debate this matter now there will be no other opportunity for this bail law to be considered by anybody at any time. 
In a way clause 2 is the clause that has the most important impact for the whole legislation. It is the trigger clause. It is the clause that will decide when all this will start. Up until now we have heard debates about the merits of this legislation about the changes to the bail law and about the way this bill is being held up as being some kind of great change when in fact the scrutiny we have been able to give it through this process has shown that it is as my colleague the Hon Clayton Cosgrove said a bit of a hoax. It is a flimflam measure that we do not believe will have the kind of effect the Government has been saying it will have. In fact in saying it is going to be so serious about law and order and crime issues the Government has really been holding this measure up as being some sort of major huge change. Yet when we go through the meat of this bill and we see how small it is and what a small difference it will make it is hard for us to believe that this is part of a grand 100-day vision. But of course as clause 2 makes clear the day after the bill receives its Royal assent it will become law in this country. It will be held up as a measurement a yardstick as to how effective the Government has been in delivering on its crusade for sentencing parole and the effects of bail. 
I want to ask the Minister in the chair the Hon Simon Power a few questions about what he is proposing to do in order to give effect to clause 2. Obviously he cannot sign the law as he is not the Governor-General although I suspect he will be as part of some future deal when he gets edged out in that last little rush. It will be a very sort of Jeffrey Archer moment we might say when in a decision made in a  
First Among Equals 
 kind of environment Mr Power will be put in as the Governor-General. But I am focusing on the present time when he does not hold that high office and we can be very clear that the bill will become law not on the day that the Royal assent is given but on the day after that date. The Opposition is very keen to hear from the Minister about what he plans to do in the time between the bill’s third reading and the time he submits it to the Governor-General for His Excellency’s Royal assent. 
It seems to me the Minister might like to consider a couple of things between the third reading and the date of clause 2 taking effect with the Royal assent. We would like to hear about some process issues from the Minister particularly around his ministerial responsibility in liaising with the judiciary. Throughout the earlier parts of the debate the Committee of the whole House was told about some of the more negative comments that have been made by people who are involved in the judiciary—who are lawyers or those working with judges—and who believe that this is an unusual step to be taking. What measures does he along with his colleague the Attorney-General plan to take to build the confidence of the judiciary in this bill before it receives its Royal assent so that the day after when it becomes the law he has built up a constituency of support amongst those who are going to have to use this law and give effect to it? 
I think it is quite important that the Minister can tell the Committee that. There has not been the chance for any external view to be taken because the bill has been rushed there has been no select committee process and the bill was tabled by the Leader of the House at a quarter to midnight as part of a very unusual way in which the Leader of the House is running the House. That scrutiny might be able to take place between the passing of the third reading and the time when clause 2 takes effect—in that brief window of opportunity the Minister will have available. 
We know the Minister is an efficient man. We read the newspapers. We see he does not keep any paper on his desk at all. We know from the feature articles that have been written about him that he likes to move things through very quickly. He is so efficient that he has written a bill that comprises only one page on such a serious issue as bail apparently but that is irrelevant. What is more relevant is what happens for the Minister so I have covered what needs to happen with regard to the judiciary and the legal fraternity in that period. 
The second period relates to stakeholder groups like the Sensible Sentencing Trust. Mr Garrett touched on this in his contribution. He has been the legal representative of the Sensible Sentencing Trust and he came in at No. 5 on the ACT list because of an arrangement with that trust. It has delivered him into Parliament here. The Sensible Sentencing Trust this week said that it was the most effective lobby group in New Zealand. We received an email from Garth McVicar about this bill. So in between this period of the third reading and clause 2 taking effect with the Royal assent I would like to know from the Minister whether he plans not only to engage with the judiciary about this bill before he can recommend it to his Excellency but also to talk to stakeholders like the Sensible Sentencing Trust because it seems to me there is a very very close relationship between the Sensible Sentencing Trust and the National - ACT - Maori Party Government. We want to make sure there is actually some arrangement for that to take place.