Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all the honourable members for their contribution to the debate on the Criminal Code Amendment (Impersonating a Commonwealth Body) Bill 2017. Criminal misrepresentation of Commonwealth bodies requires, clearly, an immediate response to protect the integrity of Australia's democratic system of government. By amending the Criminal Code Act 1995, people will be prohibited from falsely representing themselves to be or to be acting on behalf of a Commonwealth body. This bill promotes public confidence in representations that come from Commonwealth bodies and, by doing so, safeguards the proper functioning of government. The bill introduces new criminal offences to criminalise the impersonation of a Commonwealth body. The amendments will cover false representations in relation to a wide range of government bodies, including Commonwealth departments such as the Attorney-General's Department, Commonwealth corporations such as the NBN Co Limited and Commonwealth services such as Centrelink and Medicare.

The bill contains relevant safeguards to ensure that the offences do not unduly limit freedom of expression, and exemptions are available for conduct that is engaged in for genuine satirical, academic or artistic purposes. With respect to injunction powers, there is recognition that there is often a need to be expedient in addressing issues of false representations, and the bill also introduces for this purpose a new injunction power. The power would enable affected persons to apply to a relevant court for an injunction to prevent conduct in contravention of the new offences in the Criminal Code. An injunction power provides an option to swiftly prevent the conduct in contravention of the new offences.

By way of conclusion, the Australian government condemns the impersonation of Commonwealth bodies. It is essential to a well-functioning democracy that the public can trust in the legitimacy and accuracy of statements made by the Australian government. It is clearly appropriate that we, as parliamentarians, give the Australian public the confidence to trust in communications emanating from Commonwealth bodies, and the new offences contained in this bill are a necessary and proportionate measure for ensuring this confidence. The bill ensures the protection of the Australian public from criminal misrepresentation of Commonwealth bodies and further safeguards the integrity of the Australian system of government.

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee has considered the bill and has recommended the bill be passed without amendment, and the government accepts this recommendation. The Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills and Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights have also considered the bill, and the committees reported no scrutiny or human rights reservations. I would like to thank these committees for their consideration of the bill. I would also like to assure the House that, consistent with these reports, the bill contains appropriate measures balanced by appropriate safeguards.

I don't intend to reiterate some of the submissions that have been made with respect to the behaviour that this bill is meant to outlaw and which has occurred previously, save to note this fact before committing the bill to the House: I understand that Labor do not oppose—in fact, they support—the passage of this bill. The passage of this bill would criminalise the conduct which the Labor Party engaged in, which has become known as the 'Mediscare' campaign. The Labor Party are, in fact, now acknowledging that that campaign should have been and should in the future be criminal. On that basis, I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

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