Ardern Jacinda: Legal Services Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Ardern Jacinda: Legal Services Amendment Bill — In Committee 
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JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) 
: 
 Thank you Mr Chairman for the opportunity to speak very briefly on this part of the bill. I reflect again that the bill we have been discussing this evening is narrowly defined. I think that my colleague Lianne Dalziel has covered some of the areas where we would have hoped to have had a greater discussion with the Minister of Justice over the other areas that perhaps could have been picked up by this bill. 
I think it is important when we are considering the overall coverage of the Legal Services Amendment Bill that we consider other issues raised not only within the select committee but also during the more general discussion in the Committee of the whole House about the place of victims in our criminal justice system. There has been the very difficult discussion about victims when they are part of our criminal justice process. We need to find the balance between ensuring that they are empowered enough and are given support by the State to have their say—whether that includes legal support through all steps of the process—and the very difficult consideration of making sure that when that happens all sides are able to have access to legal support during the consideration of a criminal justice case. That also means managing the expectations of victims who are involved in the proceedings. No one in this Chamber would argue against that being a very difficult balance to reach because we are dealing with weighty emotive issues when we consider victims’ rights but I think that a very pertinent point was raised by my colleagues. 
After listening to the discussion here this evening I will raise the additional point that other areas of our law are outside the scope of the Legal Services Amendment Bill and I think that additional consideration should be given by the Minister and the Government as to whether in future we will further the other opportunities that we have to enhance the role of victims in our existing criminal justice proceedings. 
Within the context of this bill I think it is useful to cross-reference to the Children Young Persons and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 6) which still sits on the Order Paper. It talks about the role of the victim in youth justice proceedings. That is an area where the Government would do well to consider again whether in our restorative justice processes within family group conference processes there is a place for greater guidance around the role of victims in those proceedings. That matter was consulted on previously by the previous Government and it is I think a non-contentious issue. The bill continues to sit on the Order Paper. I would urge the Government given that we are debating the role of victims in our justice system this evening to consider whether that bill should be progressed now that this one has been dealt with by the Government. 
There is also the matter of the existing legislation we have in place that gives guidance to Government departments and to those who are working at the coal-face of our criminal justice system on how to deal with victims who are coming through our criminal justice system. It is one thing for this House to lay down its expectations be it through the Victims’ Rights Act or the charter that followed but it is another thing to ensure that those expectations are being adhered to to the level that we in this House would expect. I know that many members of this House will probably have heard in their time as members of Parliament serving the community of examples where victims particularly those who may be giving evidence in court proceedings have not had the support that we in this House would expect them to have. They may not have had a lay advocate or a lay support person. They might not have had explained to them the process they are about to go through. They may have been mistreated or cross-examined beyond what we would consider to be reasonable. I think it is important that beyond just laying down the framework for our expectations we also ensure that those expectations are being adhered to on a day-to-day basis within our criminal justice system. I think we would be wise to consider that within the context of this bill. 
Clause 1 agreed to. 
Clause 2 agreed to. 
Clause 3 agreed to. 
Bill reported without amendment. 
Report adopted.