CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE (AMENDMENT) BILL (As reported from Select Committee)

7.40 p.m.

The Minister for Labour and Law (Mr K. M. Byrne): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read the Third time."

Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill has been very exhaustively dealt with in the Select Committee, and I do not propose to waste the time of the House by referring to the voluminous report that is already before them. I would be prepared to reply to any observations, which the Opposition might care to make with regard to this report.

Question proposed.

Mr Rajah: Mr Speaker, Sir, I think this is one of the cases where the Minister for Labour and Law will admit that the Government, having maintained the principles which they sought to establish in the amendments, have had them maintained, and yet when the Bill has emerged from the Select Committee, it is certainly in a better form and shape than it originally appeared in this House. I think the Minister will accept that.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not wish to burden the House with much of a statement on this. The report has been before the House, and I take it that they have read the report.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Bill generally can be divided into three sections. The first part of it deals with the giving of extended powers to the inferior Courts; the second part deals with the admission of caution statements; and the third part deals with trials before the High Court without a jury. Those are the three parts into which the Bill could approximately be divided.

On the first part, Mr Speaker, Sir, the Opposition does not object to those provisions, but feels that in view of the present staffing position of the Courts, perhaps this is not the opportune moment to implement those provisions.

So far as caution statements are concerned, Mr Speaker, Sir, here again the Opposition feels that the time is not ripe to implement that particular aspect of this Bill. And so far as the third section is concerned, Mr Speaker, Sir, that is, trials before the High Court without a jury, the Opposition is entirely opposed to the idea, and the Opposition feels that trials in the High Court before the jury should be maintained.

Mr Speaker: Are there any other amendments?

Mr Rajah: No.

Mr Byrne: Mr Speaker, Sir, all those observations have been made by the Member for Farrer Park and by witnesses who appeared before the Select Committee, and I do not propose to waste any more time. I have only got to say that we have moved the Third Reading of this Bill.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed.