Page 4279 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 29 November 1994
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create the "loose woman" defence. Parliaments have now said that that is unacceptable, and defence lawyers are severely constrained in the way they can go after the complainant in sexual assault cases, and very properly so. Members will be aware that the Community Law Reform Committee has before it at the moment another reference dealing with the whole question of procedure in sexual assault matters, and there may well be further reforms that alter the extent to which complainants in sexual assault cases have in the past been regarded as fair game for clever defence lawyers.
The provision in proposed section 9 that Mr Humphries referred to - that a person performing functions in the administration of justice is required to assist the coordinator as far as practicable - is certainly not designed to overturn legal professional privilege, in the sense that any privileged information that a lawyer obtains from a client need not be passed over. The advice I have received, which I am certain is correct, is that for a statute to override a common law principle as important as legal professional privilege it would need to do so expressly, and this certainly does not do so expressly. In fact, it has a savings provision in it.
Madam Speaker, this Bill is a significant piece of law reform. It has certainly been widely welcomed in the community. It has taken rather longer than I would have liked to get from the report to the legislative package, but it has required extensive consultation. The Victims of Crime Assistance League principally has been very much involved in this, and I was really delighted to be able to announce, when the Bill was introduced, that VOCAL will be providing the victims of crime coordination service. With their vast experience, they will be locked into this process in providing a community based service working with the Federal Police within this jurisdiction. I thank members for their support for a landmark in criminal law reform in this jurisdiction.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.
Bill agreed to.
ACTS REVISION (VICTIMS OF CRIME) BILL 1994
Debate resumed from 10 November 1994, on motion by Mr Connolly:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.
Bill agreed to.
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