Bills

Statutes Amendment (Drug Offenders) Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for Consumer and Business Services, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (12:00): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Controlled Substances Act 1984 and the Criminal Assets Confiscation Act 2005. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for Consumer and Business Services, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (12:00): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

On 13 February 2017, the Ministerial Crystal Methamphetamine Taskforce was established. The task force, through a community engagement process, developed a package of 17 legislative and policy measures to respond to the concerns arising from the growing use of crystal methamphetamine in South Australia. The use, sale and supply of crystal methamphetamine and other illicit drugs have a devastating impact on the South Australian community.

Crystal meth is a scourge in the city and in regional and rural communities as well. Illicit drug use is related to a number of negative physical and mental health outcomes in users, and there is extensive criminal activity involved in the manufacture, sale and supply of illicit drugs, including involvement by organised criminal groups. Through the online and community forums held as part of the task force, there was strong support for measures which would assist law enforcement agencies to reduce the supply of crystal meth in the community, including more powers and resources for SAPOL and the Office of the DPP to target high-end dealers and organised crime.

Tantalisingly, Madam Deputy Speaker, I seek leave to have the remainder of the second reading and explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

The Bill supports law enforcement agencies to identify and eliminate the manufacture and supply of Crystal Methamphetamine by clarifying and enhancing police powers of search. The Bill amends the Controlled Substances Act 1984 (the Controlled Substances Act) to make it clear that police are able to search a person or their vehicle for illicit substances if the person is seen entering or leaving premises reasonably suspected of being used for the manufacture, distribution or storage of illicit substances, or chemicals used for the manufacture of illicit substances.

It is vital that police are able to conduct appropriate searches of persons and vehicles where the person or vehicle has been present at a so-called 'drug house', as it is a clear indicator that persons seen entering or leaving such premises may have illicit substances such as Crystal Methamphetamine in their possession, or present in the vehicle.

The Controlled Substances Act will also be amended to provide that exposure of a child to methamphetamine or other drug manufacturing processes is explicitly taken into account as an aggravating factor in sentencing offenders. This amendment will be located in the list of sentencing factors in section 44 of the Controlled Substances Act. Exposure to drug manufacture and the chemicals involved can have terrible health and other impacts on children, not only from their exposure to the toxic effects of the drugs and chemicals, but from the chaotic environment they are typically exposed to living in such situations. These children are at a higher risk of abuse and neglect, as well as the physical harm from the equipment and chemicals used to manufacture illicit drugs.

It is therefore vital that if offenders are so callous as to expose children to these criminal activities, that this is taken into consideration by the Court when determining the offender's sentence.

Seizing the assets of criminal offenders is an essential tool for law enforcement to ensure that offenders do not profit from their criminal activities and ill-gotten gains. It also allows for extra revenue to be allocated towards the Victims of Crime Fund and, in the case of prescribed drug offenders under the Criminal Assets Confiscation (Prescribed Drug Offenders) Amendment Act 2016, the new Justice Rehabilitation Fund. These funds provide valuable benefits to the community by way of compensation for victims of crime, and providing services which will assist to address the effects of drug addiction on users and the wider community.

Dealing with the administration of the seized assets from drug trafficking offenders (including Crystal Methamphetamine) requires the allocation of resources from the agencies responsible. There are significant costs and logistics involved in seizing, storing, selling or otherwise disposing of assets. These assets may represent either the proceeds of drug dealing (such as a sports car or an expensive motor cycle financed by drug dealing) or instruments of crime (such as the equipment used to manufacture Crystal Methamphetamine).

A minor amendment will be made to clarify the provisions of the Criminal Assets Confiscation Act 2005 (CAC Act) which deal with the costs of administering the Act and dealing with confiscated property. The CAC Act provides that existing funds seized under the CAC Act should be used to meet the costs of 'administering' the CAC Act before going to the Victims of Crime Fund.

The amendment to the regulation making power provision of the CAC will allow the drafting of Regulations to give the ODPP (or other agency if the ODPP delegates its powers) some limited operational discretion under Regulation in deciding if it is uneconomic or otherwise impracticable to seize certain assets from 'prescribed drug offenders'. This will support and facilitate the operation of the important forfeiture regime in the CAC Act. The ODPP will be able to focus its efforts where it can have the greatest impact on seizing the assets of convicted drug dealers.

I commend the Bill to Members.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

This clause is formal.

2—Commencement

Operation of the measure will commence on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

3—Amendment provisions

This clause is formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Controlled Substances Act 1984

4—Amendment of section 44—Matters to be considered when court fixes penalty

Section 44 sets out matters to be considered by a court when imposing a penalty on a person convicted of an indictable offence against the Act. Under the section as amended by this clause, a sentencing court will, when determining the penalty to be imposed on a person convicted of an offence against section 33 (Manufacture of controlled drugs for sale), be required to take into consideration whether a child was present at any stage when the offence occurred.

5—Amendment of section 52—Power to search, seize etc

This clause proposes the insertion of a new subsection providing that, for the purposes of subsection (6) or (9) (which set out powers of search and seizure), if a police officer sees a person or vehicle entering or leaving premises that the officer reasonably suspects are used for the manufacture, distribution or storage of a substance the possession of which would contravene the Act, it is reasonable for the officer to suspect that the person has the substance in the person's possession or that the substance is in the vehicle or a vehicle in which the person is present after leaving the premises.

Part 3—Amendment of Criminal Assets Confiscation Act 2005

6—Amendment of section 209—Credits to Victims of Crime Fund

Section 209 is amended by this clause so that there is no implied limitation on the meaning of 'costs of administering this Act'.

7—Amendment of section 227—Costs and exemplary or punitive damages

This clause inserts a new subsection that provides that a court may not award exemplary or punitive damages to a person in relation to whom the Crown is ordered to pay costs under section 227.

8—Amendment of section 230—Regulations

A standard regulation making provision is inserted so that regulations under the Act may—

be of general application or limited application; and

make different provision according to the matters or circumstances to which they are expressed to apply; and

provide that a matter or thing in respect of which regulations may be made is to be determined according to the discretion of the Minister or the DPP.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Pederick.