KEY POINTS:
The National Party has backed down and will support a bill that means victims of crime do not have to give evidence twice.
In a press release, Courts Minister Rick Barker said he welcomed the National Party's decision to support the Criminal Procedure Bill and is now looking forward to the Bill moving through the final stages as quickly as possible.
"The Criminal Procedure Bill now has the numbers to progress and this is great news for the victims of crime, police, expert witnesses and all court users and staff," Mr Barker said.
The bill had been stalled in Parliament for over a year because the Labour government did not have a majority to pass it.
National support all other parts of the bill but was opposed on a clause scrapping pre-trial depositions hearings.
Mr Barker and National's justice spokesman Simon Power met to discuss the impasse this week, following a Weekend Herald investigation where the chief High Court judge Justice Tony Randerson made the rare move of pleading with Parliament to pass the bill.
Justice Randerson wanted the bill passed because of the part that would allow methamphetamine trials to be moved down to the district court, relieving the overloaded High Court. He said his comments on the workings of Parliament were rare but in the public interest.
National has also come under pressure from victims of crime this week, following comments from Lesley Elliott, mother of murdered Dunedin woman Sophie Elliott, who described giving evidence at last week's depositions hearing for accused Clayton Weatherston "traumatic" and the thought of having to do it again at trial "traumatic".
Her comments were supported by the Sensible Sentencing Trust and Louise Nicholas.
Mr Barker described the bill, which will introduce exceptions to duble jeopardy and 11-1 jury verdicts, as "an important package of measures that seek to reform criminal procedures".
"The government has always been committed to passing the Bill in its entirety as the provisions in the Bill are designed to work in concert to improve aspects of the justice system.
"The government has acknowledged National's concerns around the changes to the depositions process proposed by the Bill and as an act of good faith has agreed to a review of the effectiveness of these measures two years from the date of commencement.
"This was a reasonable suggestion and we appreciate the National Party's willingness to negotiate a solution that will allow the Bill to move forward," Mr Barker said.
Currently the Bill is in the Committee of the Whole House stage.
Justice Minister Annette King will shortly introduce a Supplementary Order Paper amending the section of the Bill dealing with depositions, to allow oral submissions to be made to support an application for an oral depositions hearing and incorporating a two year review.
