Page 4668 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 15 December 1993
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MR MOORE (4.56): Unfortunately, on this one, I think Ms Szuty has it wrong, as has the Government. Interestingly enough, none of us are sitting there like the Chief Minister reading New Idea. She probably will not get any. Madam Speaker, following that bit of jocularity, the notion of a search warrant is entirely appropriate because it is not that difficult with modern communications systems to get search warrants. The fax system is perfectly reliable and can be a very rapid way of getting search warrants. It seems to me that we can ensure that the requirement to enter premises is able to be achieved with the appropriate civil protections in place.
I must admit, Madam Speaker, that this is an issue that I raised with reference to the Land (Planning and Environment) Act, somewhere around section 270. I was searching through it a minute ago. The arguments that the Liberals are now putting could equally be applied to the Land (Planning and Environment) Act and its powers of search and entry. We may well revisit them after looking at this particular situation. I would encourage the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee that is revisiting that legislation to have a very careful look at what powers are required in that Act as well.
It seems to me, Madam Speaker, that because we do now have so much better methods of communication we probably ought to begin to revisit these sorts of powers and ensure that protections are in place.
Mr Berry: I do not have a fax in my car.
MR MOORE: Mr Berry suggests that he does not have a fax in his car.
Mr Berry: Nor have any of the health officers.
MR MOORE: Nor do his health officers. That is probably the case. But Mr Berry does have a phone in his car and once a magistrate assures him that a warrant is available I am sure he could act. Secondly, it is quite possible to have a fax in a car if that is necessary. I think that both the public health interest and civil liberties can be taken into account, thanks to modern communications systems. It seems to me that this is a quite sensible amendment.
MR HUMPHRIES (4.59): Madam Speaker, I can only confirm that in this day and age it is not difficult to obtain a warrant when there is some belief that there may be the need for this kind of thing to happen, for a health inspector to enter premises on that basis. This is a situation that appears to me to be used extremely rarely. We do not very often have situations where health inspectors exercise this kind of power - I assume that something of this kind exists in the present legislation - to enter premises in urgent and serious circumstances concerning the operation of food legislation. It is a very rare kind of occurrence. For that reason it should be possible to limit both the occasions on which you need to get a warrant and the cost of obtaining a warrant. If we are talking about a dozen times a year, is it really such a serious imposition to ask a person to go and get a warrant before they enter someone's premises? We are talking about people's homes here as well, not just about business premises. In fact, most likely it would be people's homes, given the wording of paragraph (1)(a), and I for one do not think it is appropriate for the Assembly to be looking at that sort of issue without bearing in mind the impact on people's rights.
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