More Time – By Kisean Joseph
More Time Needed Scrutinise
Youth parliamentarians are calling for longer debate windows after five bills were rushed through a single Senate sitting, leaving key provisions poorly understood.
National Youth Parliament Association President Ezekiel Francois and Youth MP for St John’s Rural South Chrysean Jarvis raised the concern during an interview with Observer AM, saying the pace of Tuesday’s sitting limited proper scrutiny of several interconnected pieces of legislation.
Francois said the Fatal Accidents Bill, which replaces a century-old law, was well received on both sides of the Senate but that its full scope was widely misunderstood during debate.
“Inside the bill itself, we’re talking about fatal accidents, we’re talking about road accidents. But it isn’t speaking about road accidents only, speaking about fatal accidents, wrongful death, and the workplace, anywhere,” Francois said. “That’s something I thought was lacking in terms of the discussions.”
Francois said he did not believe either side of the Senate properly grasped the bill’s broader application to non-vehicular deaths, including workplace fatalities.
Jarvis, who has a background in criminology, said a separate amendment to the Magistrate’s Code of Procedure could improve how evidence is gathered and processed by law enforcement. He said the amendment removes a previous restriction limiting search warrants strictly to stolen goods, allowing officers to seize broader categories of evidence linked to criminal activity.
“When you look at the code of procedure being amended, you look at people who are able to gather and collect more robust evidence to present to court,” Jarvis said. “It reduces the court proceedings; it leads to a reduction in the prison population.”
Francois said the Electronic Crimes Bill, debated later in the sitting, addressed what he described as a growing and urgent problem: the use of artificial intelligence to carry out fraud.
“We are moving towards an era of artificial intelligence. It is used for great innovation and creativity. However, it could be used for negative cybercrime,” Francois said. “So now more than ever you may see an increase in online fraud, scams, fake videos, and phishing emails.”
Francois said the bill places greater responsibility on private businesses and corporations to cooperate with law enforcement during cybercrime investigations.
Both parliamentarians said they supported the intent behind all five bills debated on Tuesday.
