Statutes Amendment (Extremist Material) Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (21:57): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech and explanation of clauses incorporated in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Recent events have reinforced the need to ensure as much as possible is done legislatively and otherwise to prevent terrorism, recognizing the need to balance this with concerns to protect individual liberties.

South Australian Police are concerned that there is currently a legislative gap whereby police cannot act in circumstances where the high evidentiary burdens of the more serious Commonwealth terrorism offences are not met.

To bridge this gap the Bill will enact offences that relate to possession and dissemination of extremist material, without the need for evidence to suggest a particular connection between the material and a terrorist act.

Research and experience shows that extremist material has a radicalising effect and that there is a strong link between generating and consuming extremist material and engaging in terrorist acts.

The Statutes Amendment (Extremist Material) Bill 2017 will enact two new offences—one for the possession of instructional material for the commission of terrorist acts and another lower-level summary offence of possession, production or distribution of extremist material that glorifies terrorist acts.

By enacting these offences, police will be provided with the ability to intervene at an earlier stage in the 'life-cycle' of a radical extremist—using powers under general search warrants—to disrupt offences in a timely fashion and increase the ability to arrest suspects and implement preventative strategies through bail conditions.

I seek leave to have the remainder of the explanation inserted into Hansard without my reading it.

The Bill will enact two new offences that relate to possession of extremist material in circumstances where there is no evidence to suggest a particular connection between the material and a terrorist act.

The first is a new indictable offence—new section 83CA of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935—where a person, without reasonable excuse, collects or makes a record of information of a kind likely to be of practical use to a person committing or preparing a terrorist act, or has possession of a document or record containing information of that kind. This offence is modelled on a UK offence, in section 58 of the (UK) Terrorism Act 2000, which has been applied and interpreted in successful prosecutions in the UK.

The second offence in the Bill is a summary offence of possession, production or distribution of extremist material without reasonable excuse. This offence applies to extremist material that a reasonable person would understand to be directly or indirectly encouraging, glorifying, promoting or condoning terrorist acts, or seeking support for, or justifying, the carrying out of terrorist acts, or material that a reasonable person would suspect has been produced or distributed by a prescribed terrorist organisation. Specific defences are available, including for reporting by media organisations and for law enforcement authorities. The Bill makes it clear that academics and others storing and sharing such material for a legitimate public purpose will have a reasonable excuse. A publication, film or computer game that is classified, within the meaning of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995, with a classification other than RC does not constitute extremist material for the purposes of this offence.

I commend the Bill to Members.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935

4—Insertion of section 83CA

This clause creates a new indictable offence which provides that a person who, without reasonable excuse, collects or makes a record of information of a kind likely to be of practical use to a person committing or preparing a terrorist act or has possession of a document or record containing information of that kind, is guilty of an offence. The maximum penalty for the offence is 7 years imprisonment. The provision also allows a court that finds a person guilty of the offence to order the forfeiture of anything that has been seized and consists of, or contains a record of, material to which the offence relates or consists of equipment used for the commission of the offence.

Part 3—Amendment of Summary Offences Act 1953

5—Insertion of Part 7A

This clause inserts a new Part as follows:

Part 7A—Extremist material

36—Interpretation

This section defines various terms used in the measure (several of which are terms defined consistently with terms in the current Part 5A of the Summary Offences Act 1953).

36A—Extremist material

This section defines extremist material as being material that a reasonable person:

(a) would understand to be directly or indirectly encouraging, glorifying, promoting or condoning terrorist acts or providing instructions or seeking support for, or justifying, the carrying out of terrorist acts; or

(b) material that a reasonable person would suspect has been produced or distributed by a terrorist organisation.

37—Possession, production or distribution of extremist material

This section makes it an offence to, without reasonable excuse, have possession of extremist material or take any step in the production or distribution of extremist material. The penalty is $10,000 or imprisonment for 2 years. Proposed subsection (2) gives examples of circumstances in which a defendant may be found to have a reasonable excuse, including where conduct constituting the offence was for a legitimate public purpose. This is similar to the existing provision in section 26B of the Summary Offences Act 1953 dealing with humiliating or degrading filming and, like that provision, includes a reverse onus for media organisations. The section provides that law enforcement personnel and legal practitioners, or their agents, acting in the course of law enforcement or legal proceedings do not commit an offence against this section.

38—Forfeiture

This section allows a court that finds a person guilty of an offence against the Part to order the forfeiture of anything that has been seized and consists of, or contains a record of, material to which the offence relates or consists of equipment used for the commission of the offence.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins.