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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-10-17 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (COVERT OPERATIONS) ACT

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:03): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: In April 1995, after the High Court decided an appeal in Ridgeway v The Queen in favour of the accused, the parliament passed the Criminal Law (Undercover Operations) Act 1995 with the support of all sides of politics. The object of the legislation was to place the law of police undercover operations on a legislative footing and to ensure certainty in the law. The High Court ruling on entrapment by police of drug dealers and other criminals had created uncertainty for the police and the courts.

As honourable members may be aware, one of the safeguards that was built into the legislation, which significantly extended police powers, was that there should be a notification of authorised undercover operations to the Attorney-General and that there should be an annual report to parliament.

The Criminal Law (Undercover Operations) Act 1995 was incorporated into and replaced by the Criminal Investigation (Covert Operations) Act 2009. That new act added reporting obligations about other legislated aspects of covert operations.

The current statutory provisions have not been the subject of any noteworthy comment by any court. The details of the police notifications form the basis of the report that the statute requires me to give to parliament. I now table that report.

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