Page 713 - Week 02 - Thursday, 12 February 2009
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Electricity Feed-in (Renewable Energy Premium) Amendment Bill 2009 to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Seselja) adjourned to the next sitting.
Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2009
Mr Corbell, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (10.14): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
The Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2009 is the 20th bill in a series of bills dealing with legislation within the Justice and Community Safety portfolio. These bills make amendments to portfolio legislation. The bill I am introducing today makes the following amendments.
The Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000: changes were made to the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 in July last year to strengthen the legislation, and to clarify the procedure for when police officers can take forensic material. These changes intended to better balance the interests of the community to prevent and investigate crimes with the interests of individuals to protect proprietary rights over their forensic material.
These changes also closed a legal loophole that could have seen serious offenders being able to avoid providing a forensic sample, and strengthen the provisions that the courts and police may utilise when suspects are actively avoiding the court and the jurisdiction in order to avoid having forensic samples taken.
However, it has since become apparent that, in making these changes, police were given the power to keep a suspect in custody, but were not given the initial power to take a suspect into custody for the purpose of taking forensic material from them in accordance with an order from the Magistrates Court made under the act. The amendments to the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 ensure that the magistrate making the order has the power to authorise police to arrest a person, and to issue a warrant to enter premises if that is appropriate.
The Crimes (Sentencing Administration) Act 2005: last year the Assembly passed the Children and Young People Act 2008, which was a significant piece of legislation which addresses a range of areas that impact upon the daily lives of children and young people in the territory, such as children and young people in employment, children and young people involved in the criminal justice system and children and young people for whom there are care and protection orders.
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