Bridges Simon: Evidence Amendment Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBridges Simon: Evidence Amendment Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 09 June 2016. Volume:714;Page:11866. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Associate Minister of Justice) on behalf of theMinister of Justice: I move That the Evidence Amendment Bill be now read a second time. This bill is about making sure that the Evidence Act works as well as possible for the benefit of everyone involved in court processes. Its key changes focus on improving the experience of vulnerable witnesses who give evidence. Minimising the trauma that can result from helping to bring offenders to justice is an essential part of the Government’s commitment to supporting victims of crime.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am sorry to interrupt the Minister. Can Ministers if they want to have a talk—[Interruption] Sorry the Minister is delivering an important speech; he deserves some courtesy.Hon SIMON BRIDGES: The bill also makes a number of amendments to keep the Evidence Act up to date and workable in practice as recommended by the Law Commission in its 2013 review of the Act. The passing of the Act in 2006 represented a near full codification of evidence laws which were previously found in various places across the statute book and case law. The review and resultant amendments in this bill are valuable measures to take to ensure the Act operates appropriately and as intended. At this point I would like to thank the Law Commission again for its work on the review.This bill has been considered by the Justice and Electoral Committee which has recommended a number of sensible amendments that I support in full. I thank the members of the committee for their thorough consideration of what is quite a technical area of law. I understand that 12 submissions were received and the resulting tweaks have I think strengthened the bill.One of the key amendments in the bill is the new presumption that child witnesses will give their evidence in alternative ways. This means that rather than having to face lots of strangers in court when telling their story children will give their evidence through a pre-recorded interview via closed-circuit television or from behind a screen in the courtroom. In the 2014-15 year around 465 child witnesses gave evidence in criminal courts around the country. Studies have documented the damaging effects on children of giving evidence in the traditional way and how alternative methods of eliciting evidence such as those provided for in this bill can alleviate some of that stress. Ensuring that children avoid the more confrontational aspects of the courtroom wherever possible can also result in better-quality evidence.The new presumption will ensure that the courts’ general practice which is to receive children’s evidence by alternative means is applied consistently across the country for all children in all criminal cases. It is also important to note that the bill allows for exceptions to be made by the judge in recognition of the particular circumstances of the case and the needs of the child. A further amendment targeted specifically to children in the court process will afford all child witnesses the automatic right to a support person while giving evidence. Under the current Act only child complainants have this automatic right. The amendment will again help to reduce the traumatic effects of having to give evidence in a foreign and sometimes intimidating environment for all children participating in the court process.Both child complainants and witnesses in sexual and violence cases will benefit from another of the amendments in the bill. When their evidence is recorded on video to be used in court there will be new safeguards in place to ensure that those videos are not used inappropriately and do not fall into the wrong hands. Taking these steps is important to preserve victims’ confidence in the justice system in light of the quite devastating effects that could result from such a video surfacing on the internet for example. The changes mean that defence counsel will no longer receive a copy of these sensitive videos as of right. They will still be able to view the video at premises agreed to by the police and will still automatically receive a transcript. As well as these provisions the ability to apply to the court for permission to have a copy of the video will ensure adequate access to the video for conducting the defence. The bill also introduces new offences for those who possess copy show or supply a video record of evidence outside of what is permitted by statute or regulations.I understand that some of the Justice and Electoral Committee’s recommendations have furthered and strengthened the intent of these amendments around video records of evidence. I think they continue to strike an appropriate balance between protecting vulnerable witnesses and preserving defendants’ fair trial rights. Another of the bill’s key provisions will make changes to the procedure for cases involving sexual violence which although vastly unreported are entering our justice system at a rate of around 1200 per year. By the time they get to court complainants in sexual violence cases will have already taken many steps involving great courage to bring their attackers to justice. These steps are not without cost to themselves and I know that it will always be extremely difficult to tell anyone about being a victim of sexual offending. One thing that we can do is try to make sure that after taking those steps complainants can be as prepared as possible for what will happen at trial.Under the current law any party wanting to introduce evidence about a complainant’s sexual history with a person other than the defendant must apply to the court for permission. The court may allow that evidence only if it would be contrary to the interests of justice not to do so. However this permission can be sought at any time during the trial. What this bill does is introduce a requirement that permission must be sought prior to the start of the trial. This will ensure that complainants know what to expect in advance of giving evidence which will assist to reduce further trauma and re-victimisation of that process.This change was recommended by the Law Commission and was included in the introduced version of the bill in very similar terms. I note that the select committee has made some sensible changes to the provision to ensure that the intent of the amendment is carried through without adding unnecessary steps to the pre-trial process.As I have mentioned the other changes in this bill follow from the Law Commission’s amendments in its report on the Evidence Act in 2013. That review found the Act to be meeting its objectives and generally working well. It did suggest a number of minor or technical amendments to reflect modern practice and precedent and to ensure all provisions of the Act are working as intended. With a few amendments to make sure that the law is as clear as possible the bill progresses all but one of the Law Commission’s recommendations. Worth noting are the changes around when a witness’s out-of-court statement can be used in court to support their testimony.Under the bill more types of previous consistent statement will be explicitly admissible in court. The fact of a complaint having been made will be able to be used as evidence as will a witness statement if it makes up an integral part of the events in question. Explicitly allowing these types of evidence will mean that witnesses can give their evidence in a way that makes more sense.Another notable technical change expressly provides that plea discussions are privileged. In criminal cases plea discussions are increasingly common. Applying privilege will allow these discussions to be more effective and will encourage the more efficient disposal of cases. Exceptions to the privilege mean that where the court orders the contents of plea discussions may still be disclosed in the interests of justice.A criminal process needs to run smoothly efficiently and fairly. By improving the court process for vulnerable witnesses and ensuring our laws of evidence are fit for purpose the Evidence Amendment Bill makes some really important changes to achieve those results. I commend this bill to the House.