Adams Amy: Objectionable Publications and Indecency Legislation Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeAdams Amy: Objectionable Publications and Indecency Legislation Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 18 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1750. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister of Justice): I move That the Objectionable Publications and Indecency Legislation Bill be now read a second time. Can I take this opportunity to thank the Justice and Electoral Committee for its work on the bill. I understand that the committee received eight submissions on the bill and has recommended that it proceed without amendment. This bill addresses a repugnant issue faced by societies around the globe. Advances in technology mean that the public can now access store and distribute information in ways and with speeds that were unimaginable even a decade ago.Although for the most part this connectivity is a positive thing it can also facilitate the offending of those who seek to exploit our children for their own perverse ends. Offenders can now possess frightening numbers of images depicting child sexual abuse with ease and at the click of button distribute these to a wide audience. The images can be replicated and distributed further again often enduring for the lifetime of the victim and beyond. The knowledge that an image remains available to be viewed and shared can create ongoing feelings of re-victimisation.A 2009 study estimated that internationally 200 new images depicting sexual abuse of children were put into circulation every day. There is also evidence that the content of the publications is getting worse and the children are getting younger. Law enforcement agencies have indicated that those who reoffend in this area tend to do so with a high level of premeditation and go to great lengths to avoid detection.I have great confidence in New Zealand’s law enforcement agencies which have a history of successful prosecutions against those who trade make or possess child exploitation material. However the law in this area is outdated and the sentencing regime for objectionable publication offences no longer reflects the seriousness of this offending and the ease with which offenders can obtain and share these images. This bill seeks to address this issue by modernising the law and sending a clear message that the possession of and trade in child exploitation material are abhorrent acts that encourage the abuse of children.To achieve that purpose the bill makes several key changes. Firstly the bill increases maximum penalties for possession import and export of an objectionable publication from 5 years to 10 years. The maximum penalty for supply distribution and the making of an objectionable publication increases from 10 years’ to 14 years’ imprisonment.Secondly the bill also provides for a presumption of imprisonment for persons convicted of offences involving child exploitation material for a second or later time. This presumption will apply unless the court is satisfied that the offender should not be so sentenced having regard to the particular circumstances of the offender or the offence. Both the increased penalties and the presumption of imprisonment for repeat offenders will ensure that the sentencing regime for objectionable publications offences better reflects the vast range of offending in this area.Thirdly the bill clarifies that the possession of an objectionable electronic publication includes intentionally viewing electronic material without consciously downloading or saving it. This amendment is for the avoidance of doubt and ensures that offenders with particular technical expertise are not able to escape liability by viewing electronic objectionable publications without also saving them.A further key change is the removal of the requirement for law enforcement agencies to obtain the Attorney-General’s consent to prosecute objectionable publications and indecency offences. Historically this requirement provided a safeguard against inappropriate public prosecutions. However the New Zealand Police the Department of Internal Affairs and the New Zealand Customs Service now have significant experience in determining inadequate internal processes to assess the appropriateness of a proposed prosecution. The requirement for consent for public prosecutions thus no longer serves a useful purpose.Lastly the bill creates a new Crimes Act offence of indecent communication with a young person and that means anyone under the age of 16. The new offence also applies where the person charged communicates indecently with a police constable believing that constable to be a young person. The new offence will be punishable by a maximum of 3 years’ imprisonment. This offence aims to address a gap in the law that exists between objectionable publications offences which apply only where an offender records a communication and the sexual grooming offence which is only made out where the offender takes steps to meet that young person.Indecent communication with a young person can occur in a variety of old and new media including text or picture messaging internet chat and of course the telephone.Such communications are damaging to the child regardless of the medium. A specific offence is therefore needed to ensure that this damaging behaviour is criminalised regardless of whether a communication is recorded or whether the offender takes steps to physically meet with the young person.I propose to put forward a Supplementary Order Paper to the bill in the Committee stage that will ensure that ACC cover is provided for mental injury caused by this new offence and the existing sexual grooming offence in the Crimes Act. In addition the Supplementary Order Paper will amend the Vulnerable Children Act to ensure that anyone convicted of indecent communication with a young person will have restrictions placed on their employment in core children’s workforce roles.The measures in this bill make it clear that the law prohibits indecent communication with children and will ensure that those who possess and trade in this objectionable child exploitation material receive a sentence that properly reflects the grave nature of the offence. I commend the bill to the House.