Pillay Lynne: Children Young Persons and Their Families (Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Orders) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Pillay Lynne: Children Young Persons and Their Families (Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Orders) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:660;Page:9027] 
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour) 
: 
 I will take the opportunity to speak again to my proposed amendment to the Children Young Persons and Their Families (Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Orders) Amendment Bill relating to the rights of victims. I will give a little bit of background to this amendment. From the previous Parliament I acknowledge Nandor Tanczos who as part of the agreement with the Labour Government at the time undertook an inquiry into victims’ rights. As chair of the Justice and Electoral Committee I recall that time very very clearly because of the number of people who came along who were victims of really tragic situations and circumstances that affected their dear and loved ones and because of the commitment they made to the committee and how important it was to them. It was not that so many of the submissions were not what we so often hear. As my friend and colleague Iain Lees-Galloway talked about before it was not about locking up the offenders and throwing the keys away; it was about the role that the victims played in terms of reconciling and coming to terms with what happened and the ability to be part of the process in terms of dealing with the person—in this case a young person—who has committed the offence. 
I acknowledge that I have been very critical of this bill. But I did so very much from a principled position on things that we in the Labour Party hold very dear and as so many of us have stated things that we are opposed to. But I very much urge— 
Tim Macindoe 
: You’re not opposed to all of it now? 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: No I am talking about something that I believe will constructively improve the bill and certainly improve the bill in terms of victims and in terms of coming to terms and the resolution of very legitimate grievances. 
I am seeking to amend clause 5 by including an amendment to substitute section 208(g) of the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act. The new paragraph (g) will state: “the principle that—(i) in the determination of measures for dealing with offending by children or young persons consideration should be given to the interests and views of any victims of the offending (for example by encouraging the victims to participate in the processes under this Part for dealing with offending); and (ii) any measures should have proper regard for the interests of any victims of the offending and the impact of the offending on them:”. 
Dr Rajen Prasad 
: Tim will support it. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: I hope so. This is not a controversial amendment; it will add value to the existing bill. If I were being naughty I might say that it is probably the most valuable part we will see in the bill. But I will not do that because I have been critical of the bill and I think I have said all that needed to be said about it. 
Again when we are looking at a situation where family group conferences are convened I urge members to note how important it is that victims are involved in that process. There should be a requirement for the chief executive to ascertain whether victims want to be informed of the progress. It is not mandatory by any stretch of the imagination but victims may want to be informed about decisions recommendations or plans made by family group conferences to which their agreement has been obtained. They may also be informed of any penalty or reparation for an offence. There should be a requirement on the chief executive’s part to ensure that if victims wish to be notified of the child or young person’s progress in taking the action that has been agreed to by the family group conference then that will happen. 
As I said before I urge members to give careful consideration to my amendment. I believe that I have had a very constructive conversation with the ACT member and I thank that member for taking the time to talk to me and to make inquiries about that matter. I urge other members of the Committee to give equal consideration to this important amendment. Thank you.