Anti-Terrorism Legislation

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (14:12): My question is to the Acting Premier. Can the Acting Premier inform the house on recent legislation that parliament has passed to help keep South Australians safe?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (14:13): I thank the member for Colton for his question and his considerable interest in this matter, and I acknowledge the work of the parliament in passing this very important anti-terror legislation this week. It is significant, of course, because it will give South Australian police the confidence to use whatever force they deem necessary in a terrorist incident.

I think most members in this house could remember nearly 25 years ago, when we had the shameful bombing in the city of Adelaide. Detective Geoffrey Bowen was a victim, when he died in relation to that bombing, and a lawyer was seriously injured. That's probably the most significant terrorist act that we have had in recent decades in South Australia, here in Adelaide. It's not entirely new—throughout history it has occurred—but it has been rare in Australia and even rarer here. We have to be alert and ready for the fact that this may again come to our state.

Under the laws, the Commissioner of Police will now have the power to declare an incident a terrorist incident when satisfied that such incident is likely to be a terrorist attack that requires a planned and coordinated police action. I am sure that everyone in this house agrees, and we hope that the police will never need to use these powers; however, they will ensure that police officers have the confidence to do their job and protect the public should the unthinkable occur.

These laws reflect changes introduced in New South Wales following concerns raised by that state's Coroner that, in particular, police officers were reluctant to use lethal force during the Lindt cafe siege because they couldn't reasonably determine that the risk of death or serious injury to hostages was imminent. This will address this situation. It removes the ambiguity for police in a terrorist incident and will ensure that any police officers who need to use force in that terrorist incident will be protected from criminal liability unless the action was in breach of an order from the officer in charge.

These anti-terror laws are in addition to a suite of measures by the new Liberal government that have been developed to protect South Australians. Last month, the government completed the installation of 125 bollards around the Adelaide Oval precinct, which will protect millions of South Australians who pass through the gates of the Adelaide Oval for football, cricket and entertainment events—some major ones, of course, we are about to host.

Beyond the CBD, I thank the member for Colton for his commitment in this area. He made a great commitment for his local area to seek and ultimately fund the installation of bollards at Henley Square—a safer area for a magnificent place of entertainment in that precinct. I would like to thank today all members of parliament across all political persuasions for their support on this legislation and this important reform, which will soon become law. The most important role for any government is to keep its citizens safe, and that is exactly what we are doing.