Read into Hansard on Wednesday 15th November 2017
EVIDENCE AND RELATED LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2017 (No. 45)
Second Reading
[6.33 p.m.]
Mr VALENTINE (Hobart) – Mr President, I will be supporting this bill as a result of the briefing we had. I thank the Leader for the briefing and those who gave the briefing. What I have learnt through that, and I stand to be corrected if anyone wants to pick it up, is that victims are not required to give evidence on more than one occasion. That has to be a benefit when it comes to younger people who are the victims of a crime and they are being asked to go to court. They are not going to be dragged through it twice, three times or whatever; it is only giving evidence once.
It is supported by the Commissioner for Children and Young People, the Law Reform Institute. That is important to me, knowing where they come from generally and the way they view the law, that tendency and coincidence evidence does not violate the innocent until proven guilty. That is the way it should be. The evidence is still subject to cross-examination and has a reasonable prospect of uncovering any collusion, which provides better justice. It is a question of fact, not a legal question. The jury will have to make up its mind as to whether collusion has occurred and greater justice occurs in the end. There are all sorts of reasons why this bill should pass.
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Bill read the second time and taken through the Committee stage.
Read the full debate here