House of Representatives

Second Reading Speech

Mr Keenan (Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter-Terrorism)

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Law Enforcement Legislation Amendment (State Bodies and Other Measures) Bill 2016 makes amendments to a number of acts to ensure state integrity and anti-corruption bodies have the necessary powers to discharge their functions and to ensure property acquired unlawfully is not kept by criminals.

The measures in the bill will:

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support the establishment of the New South Wales Law Enforcement Conduct Commission and its inspector;

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ensure Victoria's Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission has investigative powers under Commonwealth law equivalent to other anti-corruption bodies; and

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clarify the meaning of 'lawfully acquired' in the Proceeds of Crime Act to address issues raised in a recent court decision.

Law Enforcement Conduct Commission

This government is committed to supporting state and territory governments to tackle corruption and misconduct.

It is common for persons participating in corrupt conduct to utilise clandestine communication methods and attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement and integrity bodies.

In response to the Tink review into police oversight, the New South Wales government will abolish the state's current police oversight body, the Police Integrity Commission, and replace it with the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission. The new commission will be responsible for detecting, investigating and preventing police corruption and misconduct, and will have comparable investigative powers to anti-corruption bodies in Australia.

The bill provides the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission with access to information obtained under the Commonwealth interception regime, similar to other state anti-corruption commissions, which would be vital to that commission's investigations.

The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (interception act) strictly regulates how agencies that receive intercepted information are able to use and communicate that information-this is important in ensuring that privacy and oversight considerations are part of the interception regime.

The Victorian commission

Like the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission discharges a critical integrity and oversight role. Commonwealth law already provides a number of investigative powers to that commission, including powers under the interception act.

This bill would ensure the commission has powers under Commonwealth law consistent with those available to equivalent state anti-corruption bodies.

Proceeds of crime

The Proceeds of Crime Act is a key part of our response to serious and organised crime. It creates a scheme to trace, restrain and confiscate the proceeds and benefits gained from criminal activity.

The bill clarifies that property or wealth is not to be considered 'lawfully acquired' where it has been subject to a security or loan that has been discharged using property that is not lawfully acquired.

These amendments address the consequences of the West Australian Supreme Court decision in Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police v Huang and ensure criminals cannot circumvent the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The amendments are necessary to prevent criminals from funnelling unlawfully obtained funds into real property, which is one of the most common assets restrained under proceeds of crime actions-by, for example, obtaining a mortgage using a lawfully obtained sum as a deposit, then using proceeds of crime to pay off that loan.

The bill clarifies that courts must 'follow the money' and examine the arrangements underpinning the acquisition of property in determining whether the property has been 'lawfully acquired'.

This bill demonstrates that the government remains committed to making our streets and communities safer by taking effective steps to combat crime.

Conclusion

This bill will ensure agencies responsible for combating serious criminal activity are able to access the tools that they need to support their functions and that those tools are fully effective. I therefore commend the bill to the House.