Barker Rick: Judicature (High Court Rules) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Third Reading 
Barker Rick: Judicature (High Court Rules) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Third Reading 
[Volume:650;Page:18846] 
Hon RICK BARKER (Minister for Courts) 
: 
 I move  
That the Judicature (High Court Rules) Amendment Bill be now read a second and a third time 
. I would like to express my gratitude to the Justice and Electoral Committee for its prompt consideration of this bill and to say I fully support its recommended amendments to the House. 
The bill will implement a major rewrite of the rules that govern civil proceedings in the High Court by replacing the current rules that are contained in schedule 2 of the Judicature Act 1908. These rules facilitate the expeditious inexpensive and just dispatch of core business or otherwise assist the due administration of justice. The new rules improve the structure and language of that important legislation thereby improving their comprehension and new provisions will ensure a consistent approach. The bill represents the first stage in improvements for civil procedure which will commence in the High Court on 1 February 2009. Following the enactment of this legislation the Rules Committee will finalise new District Court Rules which will take effect later in 2009. 
The reforms to the High Court Rules represent many years of endeavour by the Rules Committee. The project was led by the previous and present chairpersons of the Rules Committee Justice Baragwanath and Justice Fogarty. It has greatly benefited from the considerable legal knowledge and drafting skills of Dr Donald Mathieson QC special counsel for the Parliamentary Counsel Office. 
The new rules closely follow the content of the current rules and the majority of the changes could be made as secondary legislation. However there are certain changes that require parliamentary approval because they go beyond mere practice and procedure. The main changes that require parliamentary authorisation are firstly to extend the power currently enjoyed by the District Court so the High Court can make an attachment order to a person’s source of income in order to assist with the recovery of a civil debt; secondly to clarify the rules of service outside New Zealand for civil court proceedings; thirdly to clarify the High Court’s powers to grant interim relief in support of proceedings before a foreign court; and fourthly to enable the electronic filing of documents—called e-filing—from a date to be established by Order in Council. 
The quality of work that has gone into this bill is reflected in the small number of amendments recommended by the select committee as tabled in its report. 
I express my gratitude to all those who helped to bring this bill to fruition. I have already made mention of some people but others who have made a major contribution are the Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias; the Chief High Court Judge Justice Randerson; and other judges of the High Court. I also specifically acknowledge Mr Christopher Finlayson MP as a member of the Rules Committee from 1999 to 2005; and also my parliamentary colleague Charles Chauvel who has had some input into this bill; many senior members of the legal profession and law schools of our universities; Mr George Tanner QC the former Chief Parliamentary Counsel; and many counsels from the Parliamentary Counsel Office. The consultation phase also involved groups of legal executives and senior court registrars who closely examined the prescribed forms. 
I would finally like to thank the House for supporting this bill through this expedited process. I gladly commend the bill to the House.