Page 3729 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 22 November 2006
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police to search in all instances, whilst adequate in some, needs to be enhanced and the police need to have additional power to be able to do their job effectively.
I thank parliamentary counsel for the wonderful support they always give private members in developing legislation. Indeed, in New South Wales and Western Australia there is some pretty relevant legislation which I have picked on for this bill now before the Assembly. I think it is important that I go to that in terms of what this act will be achieving.
Firstly, clause 5 deals with the power to conduct a search of a person for a knife. That is new section 193 (1A), which should be read in conjunction with another new section, 382A, “possession of knife in licensed premises etc”.
The new section—section 382A in clause 12—inserts an additional offence in an attempt to counter the problem we are experiencing. In subsection (1) it makes it an offence if a person is in licensed premises and is in possession of a knife; or, subsection (2), is in the vicinity of licensed premises and is in possession of a knife.
Clause 13 in the dictionary section describes “vicinity of a licensed premises”. It says that, “a person is in the vicinity of licensed premises if the person is within 200 metres of the premises.” Defining an area where certain things occur is something which has been done in legislation before. Even in the area of planning we had the A10 zones, which I think were meant to be 200 metres around shopping centres. I recall that in some liquor legislation there is a 50-metre area in terms of defining “vicinity”. I felt 200 metres was an ample, reasonable area to define for the purposes of this legislation.
That is an important new section. Fundamental to that is clause 5, where, under new section 193 (1A), a power to conduct a search of a person for a knife is included. It states that if a person is in, or in the vicinity of, licensed premises, a police officer may—
(a) conduct a frisk search or an ordinary search of the person; and
(b) seize any knife found as a result of the search.
That is left deliberately to the discretion of the police officer. If the police officer felt there was a need to conduct a frisk search or an ordinary search, they would be able to do that. That is certainly something the AFP were very keen to see included. I have great faith in the police to exercise any discretion given to them wisely. I think they will do that.
Police, of course, already conduct random breath tests. They also conduct a number of random activities in terms of other unlawful acts. This is, I think, a very important, fundamental section to this piece of legislation. It is something that is used interstate, particularly in South Australia, I recall, and to an extent in New South Wales. These provisions are of assistance there.
Hopefully that will enable the police to nip potential problems in the bud. It will give them the ability to conduct searches when necessary, without unnecessary constraints, so knives can be confiscated and any action flowing from that taken. It will certainly ensure that potential incidents may well not occur as a result. The ability of police to
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