Sentencing (Home Detention) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 14 November 2018.)

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (10:37): It is a pleasure to be able to speak on some private members' business in this house and in particular on this very important piece of legislation introduced by both the member for Elizabeth and the Leader of the Opposition, the Sentencing (Home Detention) Amendment Bill.

This bill amends the Sentencing Act to eliminate the possibility of court-ordered home detention for paedophiles. This is something that I think all of us should agree on, something that the community expects and something that all of us would want to see. That is why the Leader of the Opposition brought this to this parliament last week as an urgent matter. Unfortunately, the government saw fit to adjourn it off or, I think, did not even give us leave to debate it as an urgent matter at that time. We then brought it on to private members' business; it got adjourned last week.

But we can deal with this this morning. We can deal with this right now, and all of us in this parliament can agree to this amendment to make sure that particularly over the next three months, when parliament is not going to be sitting, if there were to be an occasion when there was to be a paedophile who was ordered court-ordered home detention, that would not be able to be possible—that our community should be protected.

If we go into the break over summer and if we go over the Christmas break without this legislation having been passed, then there is the potential that court-ordered home detention for paedophiles could happen in any number of our communities. That is not something that we should allow from this parliament. All of us should take our responsibility seriously to make sure that our laws are in the best possible place they can be before we go into the Christmas break. This is an important piece of legislation to do that.

As I said, it amends the Sentencing Act 2017 to make sure that somebody who has committed a number of prescribed different sexual offences—part 3, division 11, rape or other sexual offences or part 12, commercial sexual services and related offences—of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act, where the victim is a child or where the offence is committed in the course of or in circumstances involving the sexual exploitation or abuse of a child, would not be eligible to apply for court-ordered home detention.

We have seen that already in the electorate of Elder. There has been a threat that this could have happened. There was an application made. I am very glad that the court decided not to allow that application, but it could well have done so. If we had not passed this legislation, then that would have proceeded in the electorate of Elder. That is not something I want to see in any electorate, and that is why it is important that as soon as I finish speaking we do not have the member for Hammond or the member for Newland getting up and trying to adjourn this piece of legislation

Let's have an up or down vote on this right now. Let's decide as a parliament whether we want paedophiles to have the ability to get home detention or whether we do not. We say no. We very clearly say no, and that is why we have put this legislation.

Mr Patterson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Morphett will cease interjecting, please.

Mr PICTON: The Attorney-General has gone out and said, 'I want to do a bigger review of the act. I want to do a whole bunch of different reforms.' That is fine; she can do a whole lot of other different reforms and come back in three, six or 12 months' time, but this is urgent. This is something that we can simply fix right now, and that is why this can pass this morning. It can go through the upper house tomorrow—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my right!

Mr PICTON: —and we can have this legislation in place. The Governor can sign off on it and we can go into the Christmas period in the full knowledge that South Australians will be protected by this amendment to the legislation. If the government choose to try to block this this morning, we are going to have the potential that that could happen over the Christmas period, and that is not something I think they could defend. We heard a lot yesterday from the Deputy Premier about the pub test. I encourage her to go to any pub in South Australia and ask whether paedophiles should be able to get home detention. I do not think that anybody in South Australia will tell her that.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Not even in Burnside.

The SPEAKER: Order, member for West Torrens!

Mr PICTON: Not even in Burnside, not even down at Burnside Village.

Mr Brown: Or at the Feathers.

Mr PICTON: 'Or at the Feathers', the member for Playford interjects. However, this is a very serious subject, and that is why we should all agree to this this morning. I call on the government to support this now and not be too frightened of supporting something from the opposition because this is actually about the people of South Australia. It is not about political games; it is about getting this right. I encourage all members to support this. Let's get this through this morning—

Ms Luethen: Outrageous!

The SPEAKER: Member for King!

Mr Pederick: 16 years, a non-event.

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Hammond!

Mr PICTON: —and make sure that while parliament is in recess there is no possibility that a paedophile could be out on home detention in South Australia.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (10:42): I move:

That the debate be adjourned.

The house divided on the motion:

Ayes 23

Noes 19

Majority 4

Motion thus carried; debate adjourned.