Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I suggested that if I take this moment to indicate Labor's position, then that might give the government a moment to consider Senator Xenophon's questions. The opposition will not support the Australian Greens amendments. The bill harmonises legal expense and legal aid provisions for the unexplained wealth cases with those of the other Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 proceedings to prevent restrained assets being used to meet legal expenses. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement into Commonwealth unexplained wealth legislation and arrangements recommended in its report, in recommendation 10, that this occur. In making this recommendation the committee noted that the Proceeds of Crime Act was amended in 2002 to prevent defendants from accessing restrained assets to fund their legal representation. This amendment was prompted by a recommendation of the Australian Law Reform Commission that allowed defendants to access restrained assets to pay their legal costs that was contrary to a key principle of the Proceeds of Crime Act that property liable to forfeiture should be preserved for that purpose.

The Australian Federal Police also gave evidence that the ability to access restrained assets for legal costs was open to abuse by criminals. As Commander Ian McCartney, of the AFP, said:

When the proceeds of crime legislation was brought in in 1987 there was an ability for suspects to access assets that had been restrained, for legal costs. We believe that that system was abused. It was used by suspects to frustrate the system and, basically, siphon off the assets that had been restrained.

The opposition supports the objectives of the Proceeds of Crime Act and accepts the advice of the Australian Federal Police. We therefore support preventing defendants from accessing restrained assets for expenditure on legal costs. This principle should be reflected in other unexplained wealth legislation as it is in the Proceeds of Crime Act. It is not necessary to revisit the importance of this uniformity. Therefore, the opposition will not be supporting the Greens amendments.