Power Simon: Third Readings — 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Power Simon: Third Readings — 
[Sitting date: 04 October 2011. Volume:676;Page:21637. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Criminal Procedure Bill the Bail Amendment Bill (No 3) the Children Young Persons and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 3) the Corrections Amendment Bill the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 5) the Criminal Disclosure Amendment Bill the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Amendment Bill the District Courts Amendment Bill (No 2) the Evidence Amendment Bill the Juries Amendment Bill the Justices of the Peace Amendment Bill the New Zealand Bill of Rights Amendment Bill the Sentencing Amendment Bill (No 6) the Summary Proceedings Amendment Bill (No 4) and the Victims’ Rights Amendment Bill be now read a third time. 
 The passage of this legislation is well overdue. The laws governing criminal procedure are now over 50 years old and well out of date. Criminal procedure is currently characterised by avoidable delay excessive complexity unnecessary cost and a high reliance on paper-based systems that do not make sense in a modern era increasingly dominated by electronic technology. It is simply unacceptable that it takes an average of 16 months for a High Court case to proceed through the system. That is far too long for those victims witnesses and defendants who find themselves in the justice system through no fault of their own. 
This legislation will reduce and streamline victims’ and witnesses’ exposure to the criminal justice system. There will be fewer repeat or unnecessary events and the use of staff time and courthouse capacity will be optimised to ensure that money is spent more effectively. When the reforms are fully implemented and operational they are expected to free up over 9000 hours of current court capacity every year or about 12 percent of the current total effort in the criminal jurisdiction. Over 5 years these efficiencies equate to millions of dollars in savings which can be used to reinvest in the justice sector and address expected growth in demand for court services. 
Efficiency is important but so is the right to a fair trial. The legislation achieves a careful balance between moving criminal cases through the court system more quickly and protecting the fundamental rights and safeguards that underpin our justice system. Changes made to the legislation by the Justice and Electoral Committee and during the Committee of the whole House stage have clarified beyond doubt that this legislation maintains and even enhances fair trial rights and fundamental justice principles. In particular I refer to the changes made during the Committee of the whole House stage that set the jury threshold at offences carrying a term of 2 years’ imprisonment and above; that amend the clause giving the courts the ability to proceed in the absence of a defendant so that the court’s discretion is limited to proceeding and procedural hearings where no determination of guilt or innocence will be made; that remove the word “substantial” from the miscarriage of justice test—it is not intended that the test for the court granting leave for a second criminal appeal should differ between the High Court the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court—and that amend the reference to costs orders to make it clear that costs orders against the defence or defence counsel for unreasonable and significant procedural delay are expected to be used rarely and only for significant procedural non-compliance. 
I thank parties from all sides of the House for their constructive approach to negotiations after the Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill was reported back from the select committee. It is true that the negotiations had their moments but I believe that the final version of the legislation is a good example of what we as a Parliament can achieve when we work across party lines. We as a Parliament should be proud of the legislation that we will pass today. I also thank the Ministry of Justice and the Law Commission for their extensive work on this project. As many members of the House will know this legislation is the culmination of a decade of work by officials the judiciary and the legal profession. The legislation brings New Zealand’s criminal procedure into the 21st century. The changes enabled by the legislation will help to build a more resilient court system further speed up case disposal rates improve customer service and enhance the justice sector’s capability to respond to future demands. I commend the bill to the House.