SERIOUS AND ORGANISED CRIME

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (14:37): My question is to the Attorney-General. Can the Attorney-General please inform the house about progress that is being made regarding the government's new approach to dealing with serious and organised crime?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:37): I thank the honourable member for her question. Madam Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Madam Speaker, on 21 August, the government released a paper entitled 'Combating serious and organised crime'. The government has been consulting on the associated draft bills with SAPOL, the Crown Solicitor's Office, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the courts. Additionally, the government has provided the bills externally to the Law Society and the Bar Association.

The feedback has been essential in making sure the bills have the right balance between empowering our police with the tools they need to tackle bikie-related crime and other organised criminal groups and ensuring that law-abiding citizens remain unaffected. Further to the direct efforts we took to consult with any interested party, the bills were freely available on the AGD website for a period of six weeks.

In addition, on 9 September we sent the opposition copies of the bills. We are firmly committed to dealing with this matter, and we wanted to give everybody (including the opposition) plenty of time to be involved in the process. It may not surprise the house to learn that, to date, I am advised that no response has been received from any of the members opposite or their counterparts in the other place.

When we bring these important bills to the house, we want everyone to know exactly how these bills have taken shape. We have given everyone with a clear interest in this legislation the right, and, indeed, an ample opportunity, to raise concerns and shape the legislation for the better. Next Thursday, I will be attending the next Standing Committee of Law and Justice meeting in Launceston, which is a successor to what used to be called SCAG. This one is unpronounceable so I will call it the standing committee—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: What?

The Hon. J.R. RAU: SCLJ—I think I will just call it the standing committee. I am attending the standing committee next week, and I have added the important topic of how best to tackle serious and organised crime at national level to the agenda. This will build on work done here in Adelaide at the last meeting of the standing committee to ensure that the entire country is able to deal with the scourge of serious and organised crime. I expect to have the final bills ready within weeks.