Goldsmith PaulHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) (remote): Thank you Madam Speaker and thank you for the opportunity to speak for the National Party on this bill. This is my first contribution to the House remotely. I'm based in Auckland and have a household COVID situation and so we're all stuck here for the next few days but it is nice to be able to continue to contribute to the debate. This is the harmful digital communications amendment bill by Louisa Wall a member's bill which is one which any member of the Parliament can put their name on a ballot and the House will debate the bills. We're now at the final stage of this piece of legislation which is designed to deal with a particular issue in relation to revenge porn as it would normally be described where intimate visual pictures are posted without the consent of somebody and that obviously leads to a dreadful situation. It was the previous National Government that brought in legislation that focused on this and it did have a not untypical hurdle required which meant an intention to cause harm in posting such pictures or videos. And I think the person who's put this bill through Louisa Wall has made a good case that that hurdle can lead to too many excuses being offered that Oh I didn't mean to do any harm." and has made it more difficult for cases to be prosecuted notwithstanding the fact that a large number of successful prosecutions have been brought under the previous bill. So on balance we support this bill as a next step. We will be interested to review it as we should all legislation to ensure that it works properly over the next few years. As I said this is a member's bill introduced by Louisa Wall. I would like at some point to see a statistical study done of the amazing success that that particular member has had in the drawing of members' bills. I'd like to see the odds laid out clearly. I certainly would like to also join her bingo team if given the opportunity given her incredible luck that she has shown in the drawing of bills over the years. And I'm sure she will be pleased that she has continued to make great contributions certainly to the debate within this House and legislation as it goes forward.In terms of this bill which we're looking at in the third reading yes we are conscious of the fact that the problem that has been focused on through this legislation is a real and urgent one. As everybody is aware the ubiquity of smartphones in particular has meant that this has been an era particularly for young people where you know material has been recorded and pictures have been taken in many circumstances more often than not and with the vast expansion of social media platforms the opportunity has arisen for those to be shared. And so the consequences of this happening have become so much more rapid so much more troubling for the victims of such a posting of intimate pictures or videos that could have a terrible impact on the victim.The law has to move and respond to ensure that perpetrators of such a thing are held to account. And you know we can all talk about the circumstances in which this happens. It may be around blackmailing somebody. It may be around extortion. It may be around revenge particularly in the context of broken relationships. It doesn't really matter what the reasons are for it. It is clearly unacceptable and this legislation will send a stronger and clearer message from this Parliament and from New Zealand society generally that we do not tolerate this behaviour and you will be held to account if you do it. The debate throughout the select committee process such as it was did look around that issue of intention to cause harm and some amendments were made in the legislation just to clarify elements of that and we supported that discussion. I suppose the only point I'd make in conclusion is while this is a useful advance in a particular area of law and order it does sit within a broader context of law and order that many New Zealanders are concerned about. It sits within a broader context of increased violent crime a 50 percent increase in gang membership across the country and a real sense of a breakdown of law and order in parts of the country. And we're very conscious of the situation out in front of Parliament today being one example where New Zealanders are rightly concerned about the enforcement of the law and the speed with which that is done and a sense of disorder on our streets. I just wish and hope and would encourage Government members and the Government itself to continue to prosecute legislative change that helps deal with those much broader law and order issues that we are confronting that increase in violent crime that increase in gang membership. The other blazing justice issue that we need to deal with is the incredible dysfunction or slowness of justice within our court system. That has been exacerbated by COVID but continues to be a real issue. Justice delayed is justice denied. So even in the context of this bill it's all very well to pass legislation but if it takes three years for a court to consider and deal with a case and a victim of a crime such as this such as the posting of an intimate image if they were to have to wait two years before the situation made it to court and had to relive and re-deal with all those situations two years after the event happened then that is a hopeless state of affairs. So I just would encourage the Government in its justice focus to really look at those issues and make progress. When I look at the Government justice bills I don't see any focus on any of those issues. Instead we see striking three-strikes laws and a range of other things maybe some hate speech and other issues all of which are reasonably important but not the fundamental law and order issues that we need to see addressed. Having said all that the member Louisa Wall of course is not responsible for all these things. She is one who has been very creative and thoughtful in the way that she's come up with legislation before this House and from what we see this is the final reading of this bill and we in the National Party support it. Like I say as with all legislation which more often than not has consequences that weren't foreseen by legislators we will three or four years down the line take stock of how it's worked in practice and will always be ready to adjust and amend if required. Thank you Madam Speaker."