Martin TraceyORANGA TAMARIKI LEGISLATION BILLSecond ReadingHon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Children): I move That the Oranga Tamariki Legislation Bill be now read a second time.The primary purpose of this omnibus bill is to give full effect to the policy to expand the youth justice jurisdiction to include 17-year-olds. This policy would be enacted by the Children Young Persons and their Families (Oranga Tamariki) Legislation Act 2017. The bill will ensure that the intent of the expanded youth justice jurisdiction is applied consistently across all criminal justice processes from 1 July 2019 through changes that are consistent with or consequential to that policy and ensures urgent interim court orders related to custody guardianship or restraint are made in line with intended and established processes which will serve the best interests of the child. Minor legislative errors are also addressed through the bill. The bill makes technical and consequential amendments to 11 Acts and a related set of regulations including the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 the Children Young Persons and their Families (Oranga Tamariki) Legislation Act 2017 the Bail Act 2000 the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Act 1995. The bill will come into force on 1 July 2019.I would like to acknowledge the Social Services and Community Committee for its thorough consideration of this bill. I also want to acknowledge the shortened select committee time but the implementation date and original legislation was put in place by the previous Government so this truncated select committee was required to meet that deadline as set by the previous Government.The first and most substantial set of changes recommended by the committee is managing the process for related charges for 17-year-olds. From 1 July 2019 17-year-olds charged with serious offences listed in Schedule 1A of the Oranga Tamariki Act will have these charges transferred to an adult court at first appearance. Schedule 1A comprises a list of offences which carry a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment or more. There is a technical issue where a 17-year-old has been charged with both a specific serious offence as well as a less serious offence. Often these charges will be related to the same incident or series of incidents. Therefore it makes sense for the charges to be heard together consistent with the standard criminal procedure.The committee made changes to the bill to ensure that related less serious charges can be heard together with the serious Schedule 1A charge in the adult court. This change keeps the interests of the young person complainants and witnesses at the centre of the process. It will also reduce costs by avoiding inefficiencies in the legal system and wasting court time and resources. If this change was not made there may have been two separate proceedings to deal with alleged offending that occurred at the same time or as part of the same series of events. This could see one proceeding in the adult court for the serious charge and another in the Youth Court for the less serious charge. This would mean that complainants and witnesses may need to give evidence in two separate proceedings related to the same incident. The changes align with broad criminal procedure and allow the court to consider the full context of the alleged offending.The committee also recommended changes to the bill that specifically provide a definition of related charges a process to transfer the less serious charge to the adult court so it can be heard together with a related more serious charge a process to ensure that family group conferences happen at the appropriate time rules to prioritise the interests of children and other young people who are jointly charged with a young person who is alleged to have committed a Schedule 1A offence appropriate management of charges where a 17-year-old has different pleas for the Schedule 1A offence and the less serious charges and a process to ensure that if a 17-year-old is found not guilty of the serious charge the less serious charge can be transferred back to the Youth Court for resolution. These are necessary changes to the bill. They are consistent with the policy enacted in 2017 and will improve the bill's workability taking into account the many different situations that may arise.The committee recommended two changes related to the transactional provisions of the bill and these are linked to the related charges matters I've just set out. The first transactional change relates to 17-year-olds with proceedings under way in the adult court on 1 July 2019. The change clarifies what happens where further charges are filed against them on or after 1 July 2019 in relation to the same incident or series of incidents. In line with the approach for related charges the committee recommended that where the new charges are related to the same incident or series of incidents they are joined to the charges already under way in the adult court.The second transitional change expands the existing transitional provisions to include 18-year-olds who committed offences as 17-year-olds before 1 July 2019 but the proceedings for that offence have not started until after 1 July 2019. This change is consistent with the existing transitional provisions in the bill. These require that where possible 17-year-olds are given the full benefit of the extended youth justice jurisdiction if their proceedings have not started before 1 July 2019 even when their offending happened before that date.I intend to move technical amendments via Supplementary Order Paper at the committee of the whole House stage. These amendments will further clarify language to improve both the certainty and the workability of the law for related charges. As I outlined in my first reading speech the bill clarifies the operation of urgent interim orders that may be required in court proceedings under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. The bill also fixes drafting errors in the 2017 changes and a cross-referencing error in the Children's Commissioner Act 2003.This bill ensures that the expansion of the youth justice jurisdiction to include most 17-year-olds is implemented effectively and efficiently. This bill will support the judiciary the New Zealand Police and other key stakeholders to treat 17-year-olds consistently through all parts of the youth justice jurisdiction. The changes made to the bill following the select committee's consideration further support these objectives and I thank them again. I commend the Oranga Tamariki Legislation Bill to the House.