Section 34M of the Evidence Act 1929 (SA) abolishes the common law requirement of spontaneity for complaint evidence in sexual cases; a complaint elicited by leading police questions is admissible if capable of evidencing how the allegation came to light or the consistency of the complainant's conduct. A trial judge's failure to give reasons for rejecting an innocent explanation for a lie told by the accused does not produce a miscarriage of justice where the postulated innocent explanation is barely plausible. In judge-alone trials where all evidence is cross-admissible on all counts, the judge is not required to divide reasons into separate parts for each count.
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