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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-07-03 Daily Xml
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CRIMINAL LAW CONSOLIDATION (DISHONEST DEALINGS WITH CHILDREN) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 15 May 2013.)

The Hon. S.G. WADE (16:55): I rise to speak on behalf of the opposition in relation to the Criminal Law Consolidation (Dishonest Dealings with Children) Amendment Bill 2013. The Hon. John Darley introduced this bill on 15 May 2013. It is a response to the horrific murder of 15-year-old Carly Ryan by Gary Newman. Newman constructed an alter ego through the internet, which he used to lure Ms Ryan to meet up with him before he murdered her at Port Elliot. Investigations found that Newman was a serial predator with over 200 fake identities. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a nonparole of 29 years for the murder of Carly Ryan.

The Criminal Code 1995 of the commonwealth and the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 of South Australia both include offences relating to the grooming or procurement of children. For example, under section 63B of the CLCA it is an offence for a person to procure an indecent act by a child. However, it is not an offence under the code or the CLCA for a person to lie about their age or identity to a child with the intention of meeting or arranging to meet the child or lying about their age or identity, including with the intention of committing an offence.

This bill would make it an offence for a person to knowingly communicate with a child by electronic means and make a false statement about the person's age or identity and to meet or arrange to meet the child. The maximum penalty would be imprisonment for five years if there is no intention to commit an offence and 10 years if there was an intention to commit an offence.

Senator Xenophon introduced a similar bill in the Australian Senate to amend the commonwealth code. Last Thursday the Senate Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee reported on that bill and recommended that the bill not be made law. The prevailing view of legal stakeholders is that there are issues with the bills, such as: the bills duplicate grooming and procurement offences; the bills are broadly drafted and could capture innocent conduct; criminal offences should attach to misrepresentation and not merely the intent to misrepresent; and, the bills criminalise a misrepresentation of age to a person under the age of 18 years, even if consensual sexual activity between the sender of the communication and its recipient would not otherwise be a crime.

The Hon. John Darley has expressed his willingness to work with members to address issues with the bill, and the opposition welcomes that. I acknowledge the support of the Carly Ryan Foundation for the bill. The foundation supports efforts at law to give police the ability to investigate and prosecute offenders prior to the commission of any procurement or grooming offence. As I said, the opposition acknowledges the Hon. John Darley, first, for bringing the bill before the parliament and also for his willingness to work with other members to make the law the best it can be. In that context the opposition will support the second reading and looks forward to working with the honourable member to improve the bill.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. K.J. Maher.

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