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Lawyers have raised serious concerns over the Government's "dangerous quick fix" bill for police covert surveillance.
The Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill side-steps a recent Supreme Court ruling in the Urewera case that found that much video surveillance collected by police is illegal.
The bill will give police the ability to use covert footage obtained on private property and passed it's first reading with 106 votes for and 15 against, despite the Labour Party's attempts to add extra provisions.
The Criminal Bar Association told the justice select committee this afternoon it sees the legislation as an attempt by the Crown to "forget" the Supreme Court judgment, which led to charges being dropped against 13 defendants in the Urewera case.
"The Crown want to win when they lost," Robert Lithgow QC, told the committee.
He has raised concerns about the legislation being rushed through Parliament, and the process through which search warrants are issued to police, which are then used to carry out covert surveillance.
"This kind of quick fix we consider to be very dangerous," he said.
He's urged Parliament to spend more time working on the law.
The Government has estimated the court ruling affects around 40 current trials, and police have suspended around 50 investigations as they await the law change.
The select committee will report back to Parliament on Monday and, if the legislation can gain the support of Labour or ACT, is expected to pass through its remaining stages under urgency next Thursday.
Prime Minister John Key said it is essential to pass the bill quickly so that cameras can be turned back on in serious cases with the potential for life sentences to be handed down.
He said the pending court cases could be affected unless the court ruling is overcome, which is why the bill is going to be retrospective.
Labour has agreed to support the bill but only after it is sent to a select committee so that expert opinions can be heard.
Labour's main issue with the bill is its retrospective
nature.
The Green, Maori and Mana parties voted against the bill.
Details of Urewera footage emerge
Details of how the "Urewera 18" threw Molotov cocktails and posed with pistols have emerged from a previously suppressed court judgment.
The evidence reveals what police saw in the Ruatoki Valley between 2005 and 2007 using illegally-obtained video, which judges ruled can't be used against 13 of those charged, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Footage shows a woman which police say was former accused Valerie Morse throwing an object said to be a Molotov cocktail.
Still photographs showed the same woman posing with a pistol.
Police also have audio recordings of gunshots heard at the camp, which were also ruled inadmissible as they were obtained illegally and edited.
The judgment reveals how police only identified people in the images using their clothing, as faces could not be seen.
These are first details to emerge of what was happening at the camp which prompted a police raid.
Firearms charges against 13 people were dropped this month after the Supreme Court ruled the videos could not form part of the case when the charge was relatively minor.
However, they can be used against four others, including activist Tame Iti, who face the more serious charge of participating in an organised criminal group.
