Yates Dianne: Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Yates Dianne: Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:629;Page:1781] 
DIANNE YATES (Labour) 
: 
 I wish to speak to the second reading of the Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Bill. In my capacity as the previous chair of the Government Administration Committee I thank the present chair for his speech and for his support for the bill and for the good work that the committee has done on this bill as we have seen for a long time. The issue came to our attention through the committee’s inquiry into the Films Videos and Publications Classification Act. The committee did very good work on that inquiry and its report was a very very good report. One of the things that the committee found when listening to the submitters was that there was a problem around the use of technology and the fact that people could surreptitiously take pictures with their cameras. I know that there are signs on the dressing room walls at my local swimming pool advising that we should beware of people possibly taking photographs with their cameras and should watch out for such things. We are now making a law about that. 
We have talked about the select committee input and the Law Commission input. But a lot of the information came from the submission of Bill Hastings the chief censor who highlighted the fact that there was no law around the issue. His suggestions too were that we look at international law and at what people are doing in Australia. The select committee did that. It did a comparison with other countries just to see how they are handling this problem that has come from the use of the new technology. I thank Bill Hastings for his vigilance in his job and also for highlighting the problem to the committee and the fact that there were no laws around it. He brought some photographs and videos to the committee which showed us the sort of thing that was happening in a dressing room at a boys’ school for instance. Lindsay Tisch was on the committee at that time. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: A very good committee. 
DIANNE YATES 
: It was a very good committee as Mr Tisch has said. We dealt with those problems. Often many of them had been put in the too-hard basket such as whether something was pornography and how to make a rule about that. 
As Mr Ardern has just pointed out if we solve one problem we create another. It is very very hard to reach a balance. But as the Minister has also pointed out the issue is not just about perverted filming and looking at the sexual element. It is also a matter of personal privacy. I can think of cases where people have taken their children to a park and someone has taken photographs of them inadvertently while they were playing. Many people felt that that was an invasion of their privacy. 
There are a number of people to thank including the members of the public who came to the select committee and made submissions. We often forget in select committees how important a select committee is and what an opportunity it is for people to have their say. Both in the inquiry and in the submissions on this bill people have come along and told us of their experiences and about the things that have happened to them. That has enabled us to improve our laws around censorship and the use of technology. 
The committee has obviously looked at similar legislation in the United States in the United Kingdom in Canada and in Australia. That has informed the committee when it was working on the amendments that have been made to this particular bill. 
As we have seen it is not only a crime to take some of these photographs but perhaps what is even worse is when people pass them on to others. The distribution of the recorded images is expressly prohibited in New Zealand. Both making those images and distributing them are problems. 
One of the things I note about the bill is that there is a provision for a maximum 3-year penalty. That is very important as it makes it clear to people that taking those types of photographs reproducing the images and passing them on are crimes and that there is a 3-year penalty. It is not something to be regarded lightly because the person is offending against and making victims of people—both those who receive the images and those who are the victims of the photographs themselves. There are exemptions of course that are necessary for the police to undertake video surveillance and those have been put into the bill. 
I note also that Mr Ardern talked about hate speech and of course that issue has arisen in certain current events such as some cartoons that have been highlighted in the news recently. Those events have also enabled the committee to look at other areas in regard to human rights and the ability of people to take complaints to the Human Rights Commission. I wish the committee well in its consideration of the hate speech issue as well. It is not just a matter of the hate speech itself but of people’s ability even to take a complaint about it—whether or not the complaint is upheld. As we have seen it is possible to take complaints around issues concerning pornography. It is also possible to take complaints around issues concerning race and colour but not about religion. People say that that is something people can choose but in many cases people may not be able to do so. 
Members have talked about the Government Administration Committee tonight and about the scope of that committee. It has a very wide range of portfolios to deal with and the people who are on that committee are certainly never bored because there is such a wide range of issues to deal with. But there are some very challenging issues. I think it is one committee where members work very well together. It is not just a matter of party politics; it is about what is important to the people of New Zealand. What is important particularly in relation to this bill is children who are most likely to be the victims of the activity. The Government Administration Committee is a committee that focuses on good law and the best way to make good law. I thank the committee for the good work it has done.