Costello Casey; Tuiono TeanauHon CASEY COSTELLO (Associate Minister of Police): Mr Speaker I've blended in with the furniture! I rise to speak—Greg O'Connor: In a cloud of smoke!Hon CASEY COSTELLO: —on behalf of New Zealand First—oh perfect! It won't be soon. I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to speak on behalf of the Courts (Remote Participation) Amendment Bill. New Zealand First believes in practicality. We support front-line efficiencies and we are about practical approaches and this bill definitely offers a practical solution to reduce court delays and enhance the efficiency of the justice system.I spoke last night regarding the impact of victims of crime and the power and control relationships that occur and the stresses of going through a justice system. I think it's timely that we look broadly at all the opportunities that we have to reduce the stresses and pressures of a justice system. I think this is a step in the right direction to allow us to provide some alternative practical options as to how we have witnesses and victims not only participate in the court process but also view and watch.Unfortunately with the nature of the level of crime now courts have become highly secure environments and I think as the member across the House said earlier they're not the easiest place to be or to visit or to be part of a court hearing. Just with the nature of the environment and the type of people it does become onerous especially if you don't know the system that you're entering into.So I think this bill provides a great opportunity to broaden the way in which we move forward using technology to our advantages but particularly remove some of the constraints and delays that occur through a court process. Anyone who has been either a witness or on a jury or part of supporting an offender or any process that you go through in the court system it is extremely stressful and torturous when you go to the hearing and for a variety of reasons court hearings get deferred and delayed and you have to go through the process repeatedly. Having worked on court escorts in my past where you're transporting people to and from the court there is nothing more frustrating than when you have had a defendant who was in custody have to sit in the court cells for a long period of time only to have the hearing deferred then transport them back. It is an unpleasant environment for everybody involved. Any opportunity to reduce the risks and the pressures on both defendants in the court system should be welcomed and I think this is an impressive step in that direction.We have as we've heard repeatedly today a massive backlog. As we know justice delayed is justice denied. This opportunity to look at ways of building up efficiencies in the system is impressive but also the opportunity to be able to observe the court system and support an open justice system. I think this House has proven that an open access democracy is supported brilliantly through online participation that people at home can observer without having to go through the process of coming into the House. I think that democracy has been well served by that. I think this is another step of ensuring that we can move forward with the times using technology to our advantage and improving our justice outcomes.New Zealand First believes in taking a pragmatic approach and this is a pragmatic approach ensuring that no one is excluded from court processes due to technological barriers. I appreciate that there will need to be some capital investment as we move forward to ensure that these standards are maintained and that systems are protected. We believe the bill maintains judicial discretion ensuring that remote participation is used appropriately and does not compromise the fairness of court proceedings. The bill clarifies remote hearings do not undermine the principle of open justice and ensures the transparency for the public and media.By making permanent the temporary pandemic era provisions the bill guarantees that remote hearings can continue without compromising the public's right to observe justice being done. I think as we move forward with technology we can gain significant advantages and we can see—and I have visited custody units that use audio-video links well and it is well received by defendants who are able to expedite their court hearing quickly. It was proven successful during the pandemic period and I think we can continue to build on this with the programme of work moving forward.New Zealand First supports the bill to third reading as it balances modernising court processes with safeguarding the rights of victims defendants and the broader public. It is a pleasure to have yet another piece of legislation that we have come together to support for the benefit of our communities and law and order generally. We commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Teanau Tuiono): The next call is a split call.