Power Simon: Legal Services Bill — Second Reading 
Power Simon: Legal Services Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:670;Page:16756] 
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Legal Services Bill be now read a second time 
. I thank the Justice and Electoral Committee for its careful consideration of this bill. Legal aid was first provided in New Zealand in 1912. It was based on the principles that legal assistance be provided to persons of insufficient means where that was desirable in the interests of justice. These principles remain features of this legislation but the bill fundamentally reforms the legal aid system to ensure its viability for a second century of service. The reforms respond to Dame Margaret Bazley’s review of the legal aid system in 2009. This review found that the legal aid system is facing significant challenges which if not addressed could result in service delivery failure and threaten the future viability of the system. These risks include the variable quality of legal aid services inefficiencies created by overly prescriptive legislation and service delivery issues. 
The bill includes a number of measures to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of the legal aid system. In particular the bill transfers the administration of the system to the Ministry of Justice and establishes an independent statutory officer to administer those functions that require independence. Importantly the bill also introduces a new quality-assurance framework to ensure that legal aid lawyers meet appropriate standards. I am pleased that the committee has agreed with the overall policy direction and intent of the bill. 
The committee received 24 submissions from lawyers community law centres and the general public. The majority of submitters considered that there is a need for reform and provided suggestions as to how that could best be achieved. A provision that received a number of submissions was the disestablishment of the Legal Services Agency and the transfer of its functions to the Ministry of Justice. This proposal will ensure that the legal aid system supports the effective operation of the courts and that legal services align with other Government initiatives that enhance access to justice. 
The committee carefully examined this provision and considered that the Legal Services Commissioner provides the necessary level of independence for those functions that require separation from the Government. The commissioner will be responsible for making decisions on individual applications for grants determining the level of repayments assigning providers to clients and managing cases assigned to salaried lawyers such as those in the public defence service. Other functions will be administered by the Secretary for Justice who will assume overall responsibility for establishing legal services to assist those in need. The secretary may delegate other functions to the commissioner but will retain responsibility for them. 
A key change in the bill is that prescription around some of the legal services has been removed. This will allow the Secretary for Justice the flexibility to modify schemes over time to ensure that the needs of legal aid clients are met in an efficient and effective manner without being restricted by outdated criteria. The committee recommended making it clear that the secretary may undertake or fund law-related education and research. Actually this is an important aspect of any legal aid regime. I thank the community law centres for their helpful submissions which drew attention to that matter. Community law centres provide a valuable service for New Zealanders and will continue to play a very important role in the new regime. 
A key focus in the bill is on enhancing quality in the legal aid system. Frankly this responds to concerns about the variable quality of legal aid services and the inability of the current system to address problems with lawyers who exhibit poor practices and are failing to perform. The bill introduces a robust approval process to ensure that all legal aid providers have the skills to do the job assigned to them with appropriate sanctions where approved providers do not meet the required standards. The committee made a number of useful recommendations to enhance the operation of the new quality assurance regime including the processes for approving or declining approval to provide legal aid services. The committee also provided helpful recommendations relating to clarifying the roles of the performance review committee and review authority. In addition the committee recommended removing the time limits on applications for judicial review of a decision by the review authority which will allow the court to consider applications for review on the basis of merit without having regard to a time frame. These proposals will ensure that the review process is fair as well as being cost-effective. 
A key proposal in the bill is that the Legal Aid Review Panel will be replaced by a new tribunal supported by the tribunals unit in the Ministry of Justice. The committee also made suggestions that improve the processes for reconsidering and reviewing decisions of the Legal Services Commissioner. In particular the committee considered that it was important for the chair of the new Legal Aid Tribunal to be able to accept a late application for a review of a decision by the new Legal Services Commissioner. 
The Legal Services Bill demonstrates the Government’s commitment to improving the operation of the legal aid system and the quality of services provided. Ultimately the bill along with many operational changes under way will establish a system that will deliver high-quality legal services to those who need them and importantly to the taxpayers who pay for them. The bill will help restore confidence in the legal aid system. 
In conclusion I thank again the Justice and Electoral Committee for its careful consideration of the bill and the public for their submissions. I thank the people and organisations who took time to submit on this important bill. The proposed amendments represent important improvements which will enhance public and provider confidence in the new legal aid regime. They will ensure that access to justice is maintained. I am confident that the changes recommended by the committee will improve the operation of this legislation. I commend this bill to the House.