KEY POINTS:
The Act Party has accused potential coalition partner National of favouring lawyers over crime victims by opposing legislation that would scrap depositions hearings.
ACT leader Rodney Hide today joined a growing chorus of individuals and groups calling on National to drop its opposition to the Criminal Procedure Bill which would allow the change.
The bill has been stuck in its committee stage in Parliament since March last year because Labour has not had the numbers to push it through.
Supporters of the move to scrap depositions hearings say they revictimise victims by forcing them to give evidence twice.
National opposes the bill, which also contains clauses to allow methamphetamine cases to be heard in district courts and acquitted individuals to be retried in exceptional cases, because it believes axing depositions hearings could jeopardise some trials.
However it is coming under sustained pressure to change its stance and justice spokesman Simon Power has initiated a meeting with Government Ministers to try to resolve the impasse.
Mr Hide today called on National to drop its opposition to the scrapping of depositions hearings, especially given the bill allowed the court to assess the merits of a case based on written submissions.
"The National Party wants to stick with oral preliminary hearings over formal written statements. That means more money for lawyers and poor victims having to testify twice," Mr Hide said.
"National should support victims, put some backbone into its 'tough on crime' call and back the bill.
"New Zealanders are sick of the politics. They want the bad guys locked up, victims looked after and the streets safe. The Government's bill is a small step in the right direction."
In a letter to the New Zealand Herald, Louise Nicholas also called for National to back the bill.
Mrs Nicholas said getting rid of depositions hearings would save victims the trauma of giving evidence twice.
Mrs Nicholas twice had to give evidence at depositions hearings in relation to her allegations of sex offences and corruption by police.
"Deposition hearings do nothing but allow the defence an opportunity to suss out the prosecution witnesses prior to trial so that they can drag up as much dirt on them as possible in order to try and discredit them at trial," she told the Herald.
Former policemen Brad Shipton, Bob Schollum and Clint Rickards were acquitted of raping Mrs Nicholas in the early 1980s, after a High Court trial in 2006 when Rickards was still employed as assistant commissioner.
Shipton and Schollum are serving jail terms for another historic rape.
Lobby group, The Sensible Sentencing Trust has also criticised National's stance on the bill.
Chief High Court Judge Tony Randerson also made an unusual appeal at the weekend for Parliament to pass the legislation to help clear a backlog of methamphetamine cases in the High Court.
Justice Minister Annette King and Courts Minister Rick Barker have agreed to a meeting with Mr Power in a bid to resolve the impasse, but Ms King is currently overseas.
- NZPA
