Hipango HareteHARETE HIPANGO (National—Whanganui): Thank you. Look I stand to attention to take this call on the second reading and I'm grateful that I'm able to address the House again—because I did in the first reading—on this Military Justice Legislation Amendment Bill. I'm grateful because of the fact that I do have a connection personally and professionally in speaking to this legislation: professionally having practised law and this is a piece of legislation proposed law soon to be passed—I am confident that it will be—where there is a better alignment of the military justice system with as my friend across the House there Ms Louisa Wall mentioned a normal" court or a "usual" court; I would say that it's our criminal justice system. So it's an alignment and the purpose of this legislation is around aligning updating and enhancing.The other personal connection that I have is very much as I've indicated and shared with the House before my military background. My family has given military service since the 1850s through to date; so this is quite personal but it's also professional in being able to address the House and members of the public in this reformation—reshaping—of the military justice legislative system.Being the last speaker most of the significant messages have been conveyed to the House and the public and my time is limited. I'd be grateful Madam Assistant Speaker for you to keep a check on my time because I've just lost it on my phone.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): You can be assured I will. You have eight minutes and 22 seconds left.HARETE HIPANGO: Thank you. I'm taking a brief call on this but the three key areas that I would wish to address the House on are really along the lines of the areas that I have practised in. One is around victims' rights and this legislation is certainly acknowledging and enhancing victims' rights under the bill—the Act to be. It's also as we've heard around repealing a provision in the Armed Forces Discipline Act that has placed the onus of proof on the accused. Now this is reshaping and aligning it with our criminal justice system so that the onus of proof is on the prosecution and no longer will it be just on the "balance of probabilities"; it will be "beyond a reasonable doubt". That's so significant and important.So victims' rights there have been addressed in detail and that is covered specifically in the bill itself in new Part 10A in clause 19 outlining for example victims' rights; having views about release on bail of the accused or the offender. As a criminal lawyer for many years—also a family lawyer actually—representing many women and sometimes men who were victims of domestic violence they are entitled to be enlightened about what is happening in terms of the offender and the conditions that they may be released on bail under. New Part 10A of the bill soon to be Act addresses that in detail.The other part that I do wish also to speak to—and I mentioned it in the first address to the House—is the provision of fitness to stand trial. So the bill is aligning where an accused is deemed to be unfit to stand trial—and noting also that under the Courts Matters Bill it is seeking to amend the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act where I've represented and there's been the fact that a hearing had to take place to establish whether a person was unfit or otherwise before it was deemed that the act had been committed or omitted. So this is very much aligning and with an amendment to the bill before the Justice Committee I believe there will be a reversal of the sequence. So it will be very much about first determining whether the person who has a mental impairment is fit to stand trial then determining whether the defendant was actually involved in the commission or the omission of the offence.I have been instructed to take a brief call on this. The details are there within the bill. I have spoken and addressed those particular provisions that I've practised in law and it's significant now that the military justice system be aligned and in accord with what everybody else is entitled to in terms of our criminal justice system. I commend this bill to the third passage of the reading. Kia ora."