CRIMINAL LAW CONSOLIDATION (CHILD PORNOGRAPHY) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (10:54): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (10:55): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I will not take long on this bill, because I reintroduced the same bill late in the last parliament and it was never resolved by the parliament. I hope the government will support this matter and support it quickly. The purpose of this bill is to deal with the gap in the law, which was brought to my attention by a serving police officer, in relation to child pornography.

Section 63B of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act has a clause that deals with 'procuring a child to commit an indecent act'. A child, in this particular provision, is defined as a person apparently under or under the age of 16 years, so, we are talking about 15 year olds or younger in relation to child pornography. The offence currently standing in the act under section 63B(3) deals with this issue. It provides:

(3) A person who—

(a) procures a child—

That is, someone younger than 16—

or makes a communication with the intention of procuring a child to engage in, or submit to, a sexual activity; or

(b) makes a commitment for a prurient purpose and with the intention of making a child amenable to a sexual activity,

is guilty of an offence.

So, they are guilty of an offence, according to the current act, if the child is under 16. They are guilty of an offence only if the child is under 16. The age of consent is 17, so the gap in the law, brought to my attention by a serving police officer, is that, if you are seeking to procure a child who is 16, the offence does not kick in because 'child' is defined as a person under the age or apparently under the age of 16. What happens to the person who tries to procure someone who is 16½ to commit an indecent act? The age of consent is 17, the child is under 16; therefore, the offence does not stand. I hope the government will look at this bill quickly. It was unfortunate that the government did not take the time to look at the bill when I introduced back in November last year—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson interjecting:

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Yes. You should have at least looked at it and dealt with the issue. It is an important issue, member for Croydon. I wrote to the Law Society, who said that they are in support of attempts to legislate to prohibit adults from procuring young persons under the age of consent to commit an indecent act. That is the issue that this bill deals with. There is a defence, in the bill, which is a replication of the defence available under the current section 49(4) of the act. I will not hold the house long. The bill stands on its merits. I am hoping that the government will support the bill and fix that loophole.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Sibbons.