Mark RonMILITARY JUSTICE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILLSecond ReadingHon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): I move That the Military Justice Legislation Amendment Bill be now read a second time.Tuatahi e tika ana ki te mihi ki tōku hoa Mark David Whittaker: moe mai moe mai rā.[Firstly it is right to acknowledge my friend Mark David Whittaker: rest in peace.]In commencing the second reading of this bill I wish to acknowledge and pay my respects to a veteran former soldier senior firefighter urban search and rescue firefighter and decorated hero of the Christchurch earthquake Mark David Whittaker whose funeral was held this morning in Rangiora. Mark was a veteran. He was aged 45 and leaves behind his wife Carol and three children: Charlotte Mason and Lauren.In moving this second reading of the Military Justice Legislation Amendment Bill it doesn't go unnoticed by me that when young men and women enter the New Zealand Defence Force they swear allegiance and they accept that from that point on they are subject to military law which puts them in a rather unique position where they become New Zealand citizens who are subject to two forms of law: the standard law that every New Zealander is subjected to and they take upon themselves a code of honour ethics and values and knowingly accept that should they transgress or breach any of the military laws that from that moment on apply to them they will be judged and in some cases judged far more severely than would be the case with a civilian accused and convicted of a similar crime.And I just make the point that service personnel like Mark David Whittaker accept these rules without question and everything that comes with them which in the early part of their career which is their recruit training phase can quite often see them appearing in an orderly room on charges for transgressions—some as huge and horrific as having twisted boot laces dust in the welts of their shoes or a dirty rifle! Of course that is at the lower end of the military justice system where young men and women going through their initial training are subjected to the rigours of military training and have the discipline required to make them effective military personnel instilled in them. It's with that in mind that I move this second reading.As I said in the first reading the purpose of this bill is to enhance the efficiency transparency and consistency of the military justice system with the law governing the criminal justice system and to correct minor flaws in the relevant legislation. This bill has been considered by the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee which reported back to the House on 4 May. The select committee process and the committee's report demonstrate the strength of this bill and the broad support that it enjoys both in this House and within the wider community.The committee received only four submissions: one from the New Zealand Law Society one from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner one from the National Council of Women of New Zealand and one anonymous submission. The National Council of Women and the New Zealand Law Society explicitly acknowledged and supported the purpose of the bill. The National Council of Women attended the committee to make an oral submission and given the focus of this bill in enhancing victims' rights in the military justice system they were particularly interested in how it might affect the situation of women in the armed forces. This resulted in a commitment by the Defence Force to provide the National Council of Women with more information about Operation RESPECT.Operation RESPECT is an organisation-wide military operation launched by the Chief of Defence Force in 2016 to eliminate harmful and inappropriate behaviour in the Defence Force. The Defence Force is to be commended for this initiative and I think the House will agree that the interest of the National Council of Women and the defence forces engaged with them has been appropriate and timely.The New Zealand Law Society made a very good point that the purpose of the bill to align military justice processes with those in the ordinary criminal courts wherever possible would be frustrated if the bill was not amended to take into account some changes to ordinary criminal law which were proposed in the Courts Matters Bill. The Courts Matters Bill is currently being considered by the Justice Committee and is not due to be reported back until 24 May. If passed in its current form that bill would change the way in which the issue of fitness to stand trial is approached in ordinary criminal courts. At present the court must first satisfy itself on the balance of probabilities that the defendant did the alleged act. This is called the involvement inquiry". Then if the court is satisfied of that it hears medical evidence to determine whether the defendant is fit to stand trial. That is called "the fitness inquiry".The Courts Matters Bill will reverse the sequence of the involvement and fitness inquiries. There are equivalent provisions relating to fitness to stand trial in the Armed Forces Discipline Act but unfortunately the Courts Matters Bill does not consequentially amend those. That is the problem identified by the Law Society in its submission and covered by the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee in their report. The Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee did not want to prejudice where the Justice Committee would recommend that this change and sequence be enacted. So it has recommended that the Military Justice Legislation Amendment Bill be passed without amendment. However the select committee recommended that I consider moving an amendment to the bill during the committee of the whole House stage. The intent of that is to wait and see whether the change in sequence proposed in the Courts Matters Bill is recommended to the House by the Justice Committee. If it is I intend to lodge a Supplementary Order Paper and in the committee of the whole House move that this bill be amended to reflect that change.I wish to thank the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee for their diligence in the way in which they've considered this bill and the recommendations they have made in their report. I thank the chairman Simon O'Connor. I commend this bill to the House."