Page 2469 - Week 06 - Thursday, 24 June 2010
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The commissioner has voiced a concern about the government not tabling a detailed human rights statement with this bill. As I have said to the commissioner, the government has considered, and responded to, human rights issues throughout the development of the bill. The bill that we are debating today has been scrutinised by the government to ensure compliance with our human rights obligations. The explanatory statement which accompanies this bill gives detailed consideration to the human rights issues that this bill engages. As others have stated, this legislative response does not disproportionately infringe on the human rights of the individual to freely associate.
But, more importantly, the criminal conduct that this bill targets is not protected by human rights law. It is the innocent victims of organised crime, whose human rights to life, liberty and security of person deserve to be vehemently protected.
In March, the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety released scrutiny report 20. In the report, the committee provided preliminary comments on the bill and raised concerns over the construction of the offence of participation in a criminal group and its compatibility with our human rights obligations.
This offence consists of three elements, all of which must be proven for the offence to be made out. The first element is the requirement for a person to actually participate in a criminal group. The second element is that the person must actually know that the group is a criminal group. The final element is that the person must know that their participation in the group contributed to criminal activity. Because it requires these elements to be present, the offence contains strict evidentiary safeguards and consequently does not unduly impose on personal rights and liberties.
This bill supports and bolsters the amendments to our criminal law that the government has introduced into the Assembly to date. These amendments demonstrate the government’s approach is an informed one and that it is decisive action to tackle serious organised crime.
There is now overwhelming evidence to suggest that organised crime groups are quickly adapting to changing law and market conditions and are evolving their structures to be flexible, market-driven networks. The amendments contained in this bill have, therefore, been extensively researched to ensure that the ACT government continues to provide safeguards to protect our families, businesses and communities and that those safeguards are proportionally balanced with our own individual human rights.
It is a challenge to provide our criminal law framework with the capacity to combat serious organised crime. According to law enforcement agencies, it is difficult to hold some members of criminal groups responsible for criminal conduct. It is difficult to hold leaders and financiers responsible for criminal conduct if they have no physical involvement in the execution of the criminal activity.
The commonwealth government’s recent inquiry into the legislative arrangements to outlaw serious and organised crime groups stated that it is imperative to develop strategic responses that target, in the first instance, the criminal market. The inquiry
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