Bridges Simon: Legal Services Bill — First Reading 
Bridges Simon: Legal Services Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:666;Page:13519] 
SIMON BRIDGES (National—Tauranga) 
: 
 Every defendant in the summary jurisdiction and every accused in the indictable jurisdiction has the absolute right to counsel and as I am about to discuss the right to competent counsel who know that the system is not for them but for the players—the defendants and the victims—in the system. 
Firstly I say to Hone Harawira who is inclined to not necessarily support the Legal Services Bill that this bill if it is for anyone is for those Maori he was talking about who at the moment yes do go to prison in disproportionate numbers but who have the most to gain of anyone from having competent counsel in the courts in this country. This bill is very important. As I said everyone has a right to counsel but they need to be competent. 
I am the first to accept that the vast majority of criminal lawyers in this country are competent but there are some—they have been referred to as car-boot lawyers and various other sorts—who are incompetent. I have seen them— 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Name them. 
SIMON BRIDGES 
: I will not name them; they may vote for me! I have seen lawyers who have had a law degree for 30 years and have not been on a refresher course with the Law Society for 30 years. There is a perception out there that criminal law is easy. Actually it is one of the most difficult areas of law in my opinion to practise in. In the last couple of years this House has passed about 12 or 13 statutes that have made wide-ranging changes to the arena of criminal law. Those things need to be kept up with. They are not simple. If there is anybody who needs to be on top of his or her game in the practise of law it is the criminal advocate who literally has a person’s life on the line. As we put up the penalties—and I think it is right to do so—with bills like our “three strikes” legislation— 
David Garrett 
: Ours. 
SIMON BRIDGES 
: —the stakes increase. David Garrett had something to do with it; I am not sure what. 
The other thing that is important when we are talking about counsel is a system that is not just for their benefit but is also as I said for the benefit of the real players—the victims and the accused. Yes there has been gaming of our criminal justice system. Dame Margaret Bazley talked about the delaying of pleas to maximise legal aid. Certainly I have seen cases where guilty pleas have been put in on the morning of trial when it has been quite clear that the pleas were coming for a long time. By doing that defence counsel is able to claim maximum preparation for the trial as well as obtain the guilty plea. There are top-up payments and retainers from clients. Despite counsel getting their legal aid which is all they are legally entitled to they ask for more from the client. That is a despicable practice which Dame Margaret Bazley found evidence of. 
I have seen and I am aware of defence counsel who come along ill-prepared for cases—again they are very much in the minority—and the first they learn of a case in a jury trial where the stakes are high is what they pick up from Crown counsel when they open the case. That is not good enough. This bill addresses those concerns and will do something very real about it. The bill creates various new agencies and tribunals to ensure that there are higher standards. I commend this bill at its first reading to the House.