Gallagher Martin: Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Gallagher Martin: Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
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MARTIN GALLAGHER (Labour—Hamilton West) 
: 
 The work that Dianne Yates has done on this legislation is exactly the reason that she will in my view hold the seat of Hamilton East comfortably. I am sorry that the previous speaker went on a bit of a flight of fancy. He was very gracious for most of the time. I will not use the words “forked tongue”; I am not allowed to use them. However I do not think it was appropriate to engage in some kind of political point-scoringon an issue that is as important as fundamental and obviously as painful for a number of people as this one. 
Dianne Yates is a good example of a hard-working member who talked to people who did the work and who came with a bill to this Parliament. It was referred to the Law and Order Committee which I chair. I pay tribute to members of that committee in particular and I also acknowledge Marc Alexander the deputy chair of the committee who no doubt may take a call on this particular bill. I know that he will support me when I say that the committee gave the matter very serious and comprehensive consideration. However we came to the view that this particular bill would be better embraced by and absorbed—if one likes—into the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) a Government bill that initiates the first overall review of the sexual offences located in Part 7 of the Crimes Act. It became clear that the issues raised by Dianne Yates’ bill would be better addressed in the provisions of the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2). Of course we acceded to Dianne Yates’ request that we not proceed with her bill but take into account her proposals when considering the relevant provisions of that bill. 
I say again that drug rape is one of the issues that perhaps could have been put in the too-hard basket. I acknowledge Brian Connell who is also part of the select committee along with Ann Hartley Mahara Okeroa Georgina Beyer the Hon Tony Ryall and Ron Mark. I thank them all for the work that was done. As chair of the select committee I do not think that members will mind if I take the liberty to express that all members were deeply moved at a personal level by some of the submissions. We certainly were moved by the submissions from the Drug Rape Trust and a number of organisations that gave public submissions. 
We also heard some private submissions from individuals. It was one of those moments where quite clearly it was not like reading someone’s account in a newspaper or a magazine article or even watching a documentary on the television to have someone in the same room as us who was sharing very disturbing and tragic experiences. We also witnessed the incredible courage of those submitters and the wonderful love and support they received from their friends and family. It was the kind of situation where—touch wood here—one hopes one never has to be even close to having such experiences personally. However one is aware—again touch wood—that one never knows what life holds. I absolutely commend the courage of the individuals who made those submissions in a very very focused way and I thank them for that. I believe that they made a very significant contribution to our grasp of the issue because we are lay people from a cross section of backgrounds. I also accept that I do not know whether the submitters will be entirely satisfied when they read the Crimes Act or the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) in particular but all I can do is to assure them that we have done our best. 
We certainly will be monitoring the situation when it comes to drug rape. One of the things about the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) and the bill introduced by Dianne Yates and our small contribution and that of the officials to them is that they have raised the awareness of the problem. I was reading in the newspaper the other day an article about some of the issues around the smoke-free legislation with regard to people going outside to have a fag or something and again having to use some tests to check their drinks and that kind of thing—the need for people to just be smart and cautious in a crowded pub situation. Again I emphasise that people should be absolutely vigilant. 
In closing I acknowledge the work of Dianne Yates and the incredible research she did on the issue of drug rape by talking to people in New Zealand and from overseas. I stress that although we are technically voting this bill down I want to assure those people who are listening to this debate and for the benefit of the  
Hansard 
 record we are purely—if one likes—absorbing it into a larger Government measure which I fully understand that there will be rigorous debate on. I suspect that there will be rigorous debate on the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2). That is good; that is democracy. Finally I thank the select committee and the officials very much for their work. I especially thank the submitters and acknowledge the courage of some people who made submissions. I again pay tribute in particular to the hard-working member of Parliament for Hamilton East Dianne Yates. 
Debate interrupted.