Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hughes and the member for Hotham for their contributions to this debate. The Law Enforcement Legislation Amendment (State Bodies and Other Measures) Bill 2016 demonstrates the government's ongoing commitment to supporting state and territory governments in tackling corruption and misconduct and depriving criminals of their proceeds of crime.

The bill supports the establishment of the New South Wales Law Enforcement Conduct Commission and its inspector. The bill provides the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission with access to information obtained under the Commonwealth interception regime, similar to other state anticorruption commissions. Access to such information is vital to enable the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission to prevent, detect and investigate law enforcement corruption and misconduct.

The Commonwealth interception regime provides safeguards, in relation to how agencies that receive intercepted material are able to use that material and communicate that information. This bill will also ensure Victoria's Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission's powers under Commonwealth law align with those available to equivalent state anticorruption bodies. These powers are a critical tool for the commission to discharge a critical integrity and oversight role.

The bill will also make minor amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to ensure that property acquired unlawfully is not kept by criminals and protected from the reach of this act. The methods that criminals use to retain proceeds of crime are constantly evolving and the government is committed to ensuring that the law also evolves to address these methods.

Currently, there is uncertainty as to whether a court can examine the source of mortgage repayments in determining whether a property that is subject to the mortgage is lawfully acquired. This bill removes that uncertainty. It will require courts to examine layered loans, leaseholds, mortgage repayments and other seemingly legitimate payments related to the property in determining whether the property is lawfully acquired. This is essential to ensure criminals are deprived of the proceeds of offences and undermine the profitability of criminal enterprise.

This bill is an important step in ensuring that anticorruption and law enforcement agencies responsible for combating serious criminal activity are able to access investigative tools that are imperative to supporting their functions and also to making sure that criminals cannot keep their ill-gotten gains. I thank the support of the House for its passing.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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