Northern Territory Second Reading Speeches

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EVIDENCE AND OTHER LEGISLATION (WITNESS ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT BILL 2006

TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.

The purpose of this bill is to amend the law in relation to the provision of what is commonly known as ‘conduct money’. As you would be aware, in the Territory people are often required to travel a fair distance to attend court, and to give evidence in a matter. Our system of law provides that such persons are to be assisted by generally providing that the witnesses’ costs of attending court are paid by the person requiring their attendance. This is generally known as ‘conduct money’. The costs might include the cost of a bus fare, a taxi fare, or even an air flight. If the person is from a remote area, it might also include accommodation.

Currently, provisions governing the provision of conduct money appear in the Justices Act, the Evidence Act, the Supreme Court Rules, the Local Court Act, the Local Court Rules, the Work Health Court Rules, and the Mining Regulations. In general terms, these provisions provide that if a person has been served with a summons requiring them to appear to give evidence and they have been provided with conduct money, if they do not appear they may be in contempt of court which can, ultimately, lead them to be arrested and brought before the court.

However, the current framework for payment of conduct money to witnesses can, in some circumstances, be quite impractical and wasteful and it may, in fact, be ineffective in securing their attendance to give evidence. This is because the legislation is currently worded in such a way that conduct money must, in practice, be paid in cash in advance. This means that even if the party calling the witness has prepaid travel for the witness, or arranged a witness to be collected from their home - both of which are common practice - if they do not turn up then the court is powerless to compel their attendance.

There are a number of problems associated with paying conduct money in cash in advance. For example, many witnesses who are summonsed are not ultimately required to attend court. For criminal matters, this might be due to withdrawal of charges, adjournments, or guilty pleas or, for civil matters, the dispute might settle or be adjourned. Under these circumstances, the prepayment of conduct money in cash is a waste of resources, and there are obvious problems associated with attempting to recover the money from a potential witness. Another difficulty, in criminal matters in particular, is that witnesses may have a substance abuse problem. Under these circumstances, providing such persons with conduct money in cash in advance may be quite irresponsible, as well as being an ineffective means of securing their attendance in court.

This bill is intended to overcome these difficulties by providing flexibility to arrange for a witness to travel to court in a manner that is appropriate in the circumstances. This will still include the option of giving cash, or it could be by providing a prepaid ticket or travel vouchers, or by arranging to collect the witness and return them home afterward at no cost. The objective is to provide the most appropriate and cost-effective assistance to witnesses to get them to court to give evidence while, at the same time, providing the court with the ability to compel their attendance should they not appear.

This bill removes provisions dealing with conduct money that currently appear in a number of acts, regulations and rules, and provides one simple provision in the Evidence Act that will cover all situations. This will simplify the law and remove potential ambiguities which currently exist. The amendments provide that, in all proceedings, the court may issue warrants of arrest for persons who have failed to attend when summonsed to appear provided a number of requirements are met, including that it can be proven that the appropriate arrangements were made for the person to attend court.

Appropriate arrangements are set out in the proposed new section 21(4) of the Evidence Act, and are, in general terms:

(a) giving enough money up-front to meet reasonable expenses of attendance; or

(b) making reasonable arrangements for the witness’s attendance which are agreed to by the witness; or

(c) offering to make reasonable arrangements for the witness’s attendance; for example, arrangement to provide the transport to and from the court such as being collected and given a ride to and from the court.

This is modelled on the framework that currently operates in Western Australia, and is reportedly working effectively for both witnesses and those parties requiring their attendance.

Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statement.

Debate adjourned.

 

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