Pillay Lynne: Legal Services Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Pillay Lynne: Legal Services Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:653;Page:2398] 
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to stand and take a call on the Legal Services Amendment Bill. I was a little bit perplexed by Shane Ardern’s comments about Labour’s lack of commitment on this bill and perhaps a little later in my speech I will be able to enlighten the member. I think he shares the forgetfulness that many of his colleagues have the misfortune of sharing. This bill was introduced by Labour and was drafted under some very very sad circumstances. I have heard many members speaking on this bill acknowledging that matter. The bill ensures that when victims of crime attend a Parole Board hearing or coronial inquest they will no longer be subject to financial eligibility testing. This bill also enables—as other speakers have said—the Legal Services Agency to write off legal debt at any time during the legal proceedings rather than as was the case before waiting until the proceedings are concluded. That takes away a lot of stress and anxiety from people who are in very very difficult circumstances. Also the new regulation-making power enables the Governor-General to exempt particular groups of people from financial eligibility tests and repayment conditions. This bill will allow greater consideration of individual circumstances and in particular will better support victims of crime who have been through very very trying and tragic circumstances. 
This bill—and I am sure Mr Ardern will be very interested in this—builds on the Legal Services Act which came into force in 2001. The aim of that Act was to ensure that legal aid was delivered consistently and efficiently. If we think about the purpose of the Legal Services Agency we know that it is to provide the legal aid scheme that will assist people who have insufficient means to pay for legal services so that they will still have access to those services. It also provides for other means of legal assistance and it supports legal services through community law centres. Those are very very worthwhile purposes for the Legal Services Agency. As other people have said the stress on victims of crime when there is not the clarity about available legal support and they are subject to financial eligibility testing has created the need for this bill. 
I will talk about how this bill came about. It came about under very tragic circumstances when the family of a victim were asked to repay $19000 in legal aid. The then Minister of Justice Annette King found that situation to be absolutely inappropriate. She asked for an urgent report and for victims in these circumstances to be treated in a caring and compassionate way and looked at how we could address the issue. Subsequently the debt was written off. That was very appropriate and is what led to the introduction of this bill. 
I will also address some of the points that Shane Ardern made. He said that Labour had not really done much in this area. As Labour’s spokesperson on victims’ rights I will talk about some of the things that Labour implemented such as the Sentencing Act 2002. That Act recognised the potential of restorative justice to make offenders more accountable to victims through a number of rights such as rights to information and the ability to have input into sentencing decisions through victim impact statements. 
Labour passed the Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims Act 2005 which ensured that victims of inmates awarded compensation could claim against that compensation. 
 Labour introduced the Children Young Persons and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 6) which included a provision to ensure that victims of youth crime can attend Youth Court hearings to ensure that victims are kept properly informed. 
I acknowledge Nandor Tanczos in this Chamber because in 2008 he initiated an inquiry into victims’ rights with the Justice and Electoral Committee. As a result of that inquiry the committee travelled to Australia to look at victims’ compensation and victims’ schemes there and it came back with some very good information. Unfortunately National members declined to travel and find out about the schemes there but they were very keen to sign their names— 
Hon Simon Power 
: It’s time to move on Lynne. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: It was so last year. National members signed their names to the select committee report and they certainly went along with its recommendations. 
As a result of that report the Victims Charter was developed as well as an 0800 victims line so that victims of crime could have 24/7 access to an 0800 line and could get up-to-date information and support when they needed it most. I was very proud to be part of a Government that introduced that support for victims and as a current member of the Justice and Electoral Committee I am very keen to monitor the effectiveness and funding of that initiative under a National Government. We will certainly be looking at holding the National Government to account on the initiative to ensure that victims in New Zealand get the rights they are entitled to. We want to ensure not only that victims receive those rights but that every possible effort is made for them to be aware of their rights in those situations. 
I reiterate that this bill is a very good bill. Shane Ardern pointed out that it was brought in later in Labour’s term but it was later in Labour’s term when the gross injustice came to light. I challenge the National Government and say that it would have been great if it had introduced this bill in its first 100 days of action rather than dealing to workers cutting KiwiSaver and introducing the 90-day bill and all the flimflam that did nothing. 
 The bill has complete support from every party in the House. If the National Government had felt that this issue was so important and we all agree it is and had put it on the Order Paper in the Government’s first 100 days of action then the Government would have received accolades but it did not have that foresight. However the bill is before the House now. The bill was introduced under a Labour Government and I am very proud to stand as a member of the Labour Party to commend the bill to the House. Thank you.