Shanks Katrina: Habeas Corpus Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Shanks Katrina: Habeas Corpus Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 15 August 2012. Volume:682;Page:4443. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
: 
 It is my pleasure to take a short call on this bill tonight. It is an honour and a privilege to be speaking on such an important topic at the first reading of the Habeas Corpus Amendment Bill. Obviously my colleagues are very well read on Latin and I cannot compete in any way whatsoever apart from to say “Ad astra per aspera” which are the four words that I know. They mean “To the stars through endeavour” which was my school motto so that is as good as I get I have to say. 
Hon Simon Bridges 
: What does it mean? 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: What does it mean? To the stars through endeavour—very important. That is a girls’ school for you. [ 
Interruption 
] It does indeed. 
So I would just like to acknowledge my colleague Chris Auchinvole for the work that he has put into getting this bill to the ballot and drawn for its first reading today. I would also like to acknowledge the Law Commission for the work that it has put into the bill’s early stages to get it to the House today and also the Justice and Electoral Committee which is led by the fabulous Tim Macindoe and deputy chair Cam Calder for the work that they are going to do when it gets to the select committee of course. Obviously it will be a quick turn-round for this bill to get it back to the House for the second reading. 
Habeas corpus is a pillar of the criminal justice system. It safeguards the liberty of New Zealand citizens. This relates to an application under the 2001 Act which allows the validity of any arrest or detention to be tested. If it is found to be unlawful the court may issue an order and that person is released. This reflects one of the most important ideas in a free and democratic society—that there is a general right to liberty unless there is a legal basis for that liberty to be removed. This idea is so important it is enshrined in our New Zealand Bill of Rights Act in recognition of the importance of this. This bill helps us to recognise and modernise the process under which the courts examine the wrongful detention of applications. These changes prevent the erosion of process through misuse and allow for technological advancements to be incorporated facilitating the progression of applications through the courts. This bill does come in the light of the Law Commission’s report and the anomalies of how the original Act has been applied. I know that previous colleagues in the House have spoken to that in detail so I do not need to speak to that. 
Obviously the history of habeas corpus is long and varied. It comes from way back in the 14th century so it has a long history in our court judicial system through New Zealand and the United Kingdom as well. With its enactment there was a requirement that the applications take precedence over all other court business and this was a reflection of its absolute importance. However some applications including from prisoners serving sentences have been applying this inappropriately. Because of that this bill has come about to ensure that the courts have a bit more flexibility and it allows the justices of the High Court the freedom to dispense with the rule that the applications take precedence in cases where the system is being abused. It provides them with the flexibility and makes our court more modern. It also allows them to use more technology but more technology in a safe way ensuring that every application is inspected by a High Court judge as it should be. This bill allows for teleconferences or audiovisual links and it will also allow for a number of applications to be disposed of in a very timely manner. 
This is a Government whose priority is about better public services. This is just one more example of that to ensure we have efficient and effective management of our justice system. I commend this bill to the House. Thank you.