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JUSTICE AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (RECORDS OF DEPOSITIONS AND OTHER MATTERS) BILL (Serial 159) Bill presented and read a first time. Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The main purpose of this bill is to repeal the Records of Deposition Act in relation to how court records are kept. Part 4, Division 2 of the Local Court Act 2015, which comes into operation on 1 May 2016 – hallelujah! – will regulate the administration of court records in the Northern Territory’s lower courts. This bill is part of the government’s commitment to rationalising and modernising the courts and court procedures of the Northern Territory. The Records of Deposition Act commenced operation in 1970. Prior to the introduction of this act, the evidence of witnesses in a court was largely taken down in writing. This was done on a typewriter or written by shorthand as witnesses’ evidence was given. Introduction of the Record of Depositions Act in 1970 was aimed at keeping up with technological developments of that time by making provision for the sound recording of evidence in the magistrates court. Where a courtroom was not yet equipped with what was then termed sound and recording apparatus, the Records of Deposition Act continued to make provision for evidence to be recorded in writing. Technology, as we all know, has again come a long way since 1970. ‘Depositions’ is not a word in common usage anymore. The recoding of evidence is no longer done by means of a sound recording on tape, but is digitally audio recorded. It has been a very long time indeed since anyone has had cause to use shorthand in a courtroom for the purposes of preparing the official court transcript. The government’s consultation on the Record of Depositions Act formed part of the Territory-wide community consultation on the draft Local Court Bill in 2014. My department released a report on this consultation on 22 September 2014 and the report confirmed that the Record of Depositions Act is overly prescriptive and will cease to be of practical relevance with the implementation of the new Local Court Act 2015 and its subordinate legislation. Part 4, Division 2 of the Local Court Act, which deals with the administration of court records, will cover the majority of the substantive provisions under the Records of Depositions Act. In recognition of this the bill repeals the Record of Depositions Act and makes provisions for the remaining aspects of the act which are still relevant today and are not already including in the Local Court Act. I will now outline the repeals and amendments. Section 1 and 2 of the Records of Depositions Act are formal clauses describing the short title and commencement of the act. Section 3 contains definitions and section 4 describes the application of the act. These sections will no longer be necessary and can be repealed. Sections 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 17 and 20 are substantive provisions which will be covered by Part 4, Division 2 of the Local Court Act. Sections 7, 18 and 19 of the Records of Depositions Act are no longer applicable in light of the current technology. Sections 11 and 16 of the Records of Depositions Act deal with the evidentiary status and certification elements of court records which are covered by section 178(5) and section 157 of the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act. I know many members have been awake at night worrying about these issues as they have been thinking about them in this House. Amendments to the Local Court Act 2015 are required to make provisions for sections 12, 14 and 15 of the Records of Depositions Act which deal with the mandatory transcription of evidence in certain cases. These sections are not currently covered by the Local Court Act or under any legislation. Under these provisions the court must always provide a transcription where a person lodges an appeal to the Supreme Court or is committed to stand trial or sentence for an indictable offense or where the court reserves a question of law for consideration of the Supreme Court. The bill amends the Local Court to require the principle register to arrange for the transcription in these cases. The Records of Deposition Act also covers the administration of court records for the coroner, youth justice court and the work health court. These courts do not form part of the Local Court reforms under the Local Court Act. However, the proper administration of records is equally important to these courts. For this reason the bill makes consequential amendments to the Coroners Act, Youth Justice Act and the Work Health Administration Act so these courts will have the same requirements in relation to the administration of records as the Local Court. The consequential amendments provide that Part 4 Division 2 of the Local Court Act 2015 will also apply to the Coroner, the Youth Justice Court and the Work Health Court. This reform is important to the harmonisation of the lowers court of the Northern Territory and indicative of this government’s commitment to the orderly administration of justice, something I have taken very seriously as the Attorney-General over the last four years. People who have paid attention have noted the substantial reform to our court system, not necessarily politically sexy but it establishes a court system that is ready to embrace the growth of the Northern Territory over the next 50 years. I commend the bill to honourable members, and I table a copy of the explanatory statement. |