Unexplained Wealth (Commonwealth Powers) Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 8 June 2021.)

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (16:34): I rise to speak to the bill and indicate that I will be the lead speaker for the opposition and that the opposition is supportive of this bill. Labor in government in South Australia had taken a tough line on serious and organised crime and has done so for a number of decades. In addition to a range of laws focused on outlaw motorcycle gangs, Labor in government acted to confiscate criminal assets when it passed the Criminal Assets Confiscation Act 2005. Labor again showed leadership in the area when it passed the Serious and Organised Crimes (Unexplained Wealth) Act in 2009.

Under this law, the serious and organised crime (unexplained wealth) provisions, the Director of Public Prosecutions may authorise the South Australian Crown Solicitor to apply to the South Australian Supreme Court for an unexplained wealth order. This can happen when there is a reasonable suspicion that a person or an incorporated body has unlawfully acquired wealth. There is no requirement to show reasonable grounds to suspect that person committed an offence. This law was updated in 2013 to make it easier for investigators to use a wide range of information sources.

A number of other jurisdictions passed laws in the 1990s and early 2000s to deal with unexplained wealth, including New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland and the commonwealth. In 2012, a report of the commonwealth Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement found that the commonwealth unexplained wealth legislation was not working as intended. It further found that a national approach to unexplained wealth legislation would be a far more effective response to organised crime.

The committee recommended a referral of powers from the states and territories to the commonwealth. In 2013, several jurisdictions formed a working group to consider a national approach. The bill before us today is the outcome of some of those earlier recommendations of the working group. The bill seeks to adopt certain laws of the commonwealth relating to unexplained wealth and information gathering. It also seeks to refer certain related matters to the commonwealth under section 51(37) of the Australian Constitution.

At a local level, the bill proposes amendments to the Criminal Assets Confiscation Act and the Serious and Organised Crime (Unexplained Wealth) Act that I previously mentioned. It is noted that the expanded operation of the commonwealth law is designed to operate concurrently with SA's existing unexplained wealth provisions.

With regard to the referral of powers that makes a limited text-based referral as distinct from a broader topic-based referral, this text-based referral provides for a narrow scope of interpretation as opposed to the referral of much broader subject matter. In doing so, it will facilitate South Australia joining the national scheme known as the National Cooperative Scheme on Unexplained Wealth.

The opposition offers support for this bill and looks forward to the government progressing the bill in the committee stage, and I might outline that it is possible in the committee stage that we may have a few questions about the operation of this bill and if there was any particular operation or matter that was in the minds of the government when it put forward this bill.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. D.G.E. Hood.