Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Powers, Offences and Other Measures) Bill 2015. This government is committed to tackling crime and making our communities safer. As our Prime Minister often states, the first duty and responsibility of every government is to protect the nation and to advance its national interest. We have thorough and committed law enforcement agencies that work hard to keep our people and our communities in this nation safe. These agencies, however, require our Commonwealth laws to be robust and effective and provide them with the tools and powers they need to combat the cost of crime.

This bill contains a range of measures across various acts including tougher penalties for gun related crimes, increasing the operation and effectiveness of serious drug and precursor offences and increased penalties for marriage offences. Underage marriage is never okay. Children have many capabilities but they do not have the experience and ability to fight against forced marriage, particularly if this is being coerced by a family member or a community member they have been raised to respect.

As a result of the amendments in this bill, a child under the age of 16 will be presumed incapable of consenting to marriage, altering it from the current marriageable age under the Marriage Act of 18 years of age. Aggravated forced marriage relates to a victim less than 18 years of age. The amendments will also see anyone who engages in conduct that causes a person who does not understand the marriage ceremony to enter a marriage, such as arranging or officiating over the marriage of the child, also committing an offence. The penalty for engaging in conduct to cause another person to enter into an aggravated forced marriage will increase from a maximum of seven years imprisonment to a maximum of nine years. For non-aggravated forced marriage offences we will also increase the penalty from the existing four years imprisonment to seven years imprisonment.

Forced marriage is not okay and can be prevented with the right education and tools to empower young men and women, their families and friends to protect themselves. Girls of this age should be having fun, learning and gaining life experience, studying and enjoying safe and appropriate entertainment with friends and families. They should be working towards and looking forward to working towards a career and a free life in a country that prides itself on freedoms and equality. Sadly, however, this does not always exist and Australian girls themselves have been sent overseas by their families to be married and girls from other countries have been brought to Australia to be married. When we think of forced marriage we think of the young female but it affects many—the young women, the young men who feel pressured and do not want to be part of a forced arrangement, the parents and the friends who often feel powerless as onlookers.

Some of the tools that this government will provide to aid in the preventative measures are: $485,925 over four years for ongoing education; the launch of the forced marriage community pack, which provides information and resources on the issue; and maintaining specialised teams in the Australian Federal Police to investigate forced marriages. Also a range of forced marriage workshops took place during April-May this year. Education is vital in supporting these legislative amendments.

Last year, in 2014, it was alleged that a 26-year-old student entered a Sydney Centrelink office requesting assistance to become a guardian of a 12-year-old girl. This girl was in fact his wife. Of course, the police were called in and action was taken. The accused, who was here on a student visa, did not believe anything was wrong with seeking guardianship as the girl was his wife. This is why education in this space is vital.

There is news relating to the notorious Australian ISIS terrorists Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar. They have been allegedly killed whilst fighting in Iraq. There are also claims that Elomar recently married Sharrouf's 14-year-old daughter. The government are introducing this amendment as we will not tolerate this type of behaviour. Many Australians support this view.

Amendments in this bill also relate to increasing the operation and effectiveness of serious drug and precursor offences. The community do not want to tolerate drug offences and the many hideous faces displayed with abuse, crime and violent behaviour, not to mention the impact that drugs have on those using them and their families.

On 20 May 2015, the Minister for Justice, the Honourable Michael Keenan, released in Sydney with the Australian Crime Commission Chief Executive Officer, Chris Dawson, the latest threat assessment, Organised Crime in Australia 2015, which reveals serious and organised crime in Australia still relies on the illicit drug market as its principle source of profit. More than 60 per cent of Australia's highest risk criminal targets are involved in the methamphetamine market and are driving the market's expansion. With this bill, the government will provide laws that will enable law enforcement agencies the powers to better combat drug crimes. This amendment will do this in two ways: firstly, it will ensure that it will be simpler to prosecute individuals who evade punishment because they manage their involvement in a drug operation in such a way that prosecution cannot prove that they have the relevant level of knowledge; and, secondly, it will simplify the offences for importing the chemicals used to manufacture illicit drugs. This will ensure the same burden of proof applies to cases involving an attempted drug offence as in a case where an accused actually committed an offence. With this amendment, the prosecution will only need to prove that the person knew there was a risk that the substance used was an illicit drug. This will make it simpler to prosecute those who operate in larger drug outfits but deliberately ignore obvious signs about how their actions fit into the broader scheme.

The second change deals with importing chemicals which organised criminal groups use in the production of illicit drugs like, in particular, methamphetamine and ice. With this change, prosecution no longer have to prove that the importer intended to produce illicit drugs or pass them on to a drug manufacturer for that purpose. It will now be enough that the person imported a precursor without appropriate authorisations. The use of these illegal drugs and in particular ice and the importers of the precursors and the producers of these illicit drugs must be accountable to the law. Manufacturers and drug dealers are becoming more conniving and knowledgeable about how to bypass the force of the law whilst the number of vulnerable victims grows.

In the electorate of Macquarie, a newspaper recently reported that five teenagers were hospitalised for using a drug known as Batman. These young teenagers have a future. They have parents, they have families and they are part of our local community. What was particularly frightening about this drug—an acid tripper and a form of ecstasy—was that little was known by emergency services about how it operated and how they needed to respond to assist the five young people.

The bill also provides tougher penalties for firearms-trafficking offences. We all want to feel safe in our daily lives and, fortunately, Australia does have significant licensing laws that contribute to our safety. Unfortunately, there has been too much sad news lately across the globe in news footage where we have observed shootings and their impacts on communities. This bill introduces mandatory minimum sentencing of five years imprisonment for the offences of possessing illegal firearms and firearm parts in Australia and illegally moving firearms and parts across borders in Australia. Again, our law enforcement agencies do an incredibly amazing job. If we can assist through Commonwealth legislation, then we will. As committed in our election promise, this government undertook to implement tougher penalties on gun related crime. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our law enforcement personnel who work so tirelessly to keep our communities and our nation safe. If we can help to do your job better with Commonwealth laws that are robust and effective and enable you better tools and powers to combat crime, then this government will endeavour to take the action required to do so.

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