Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the government's Crimes Legislation Amendment (Psychoactive Substances and Other Measures) Bill 2014. It is an important bill that strengthens and updates our criminal law so that those who do harm through violence and drugs are brought to justice and so there is adequate deterrence for those who may seek to commit such crimes in the future.

The bill comprises six schedules. Schedule 1 will amend the Criminal Code and Customs Act to strengthen the Commonwealth's ability to respond to new and emerging illicit drugs, known as psychoactive substances. Schedule 2 will amend the Criminal Code and the Customs Act to implement tougher penalties for gun related crime. Schedule 3 will amend the International Transfer of Prisoners Act 1997 to streamline the process and remove unnecessary administrative burdens. Schedule 4 amends the Criminal Code to clarify that slavery offences have universal jurisdiction. This aligns with principles under international law. Schedule 5 will ensure the Australian Federal Police have access to Commonwealth investigatory powers at certain airports between the repeal of old regulations and the passage of new regulations. Schedule 6 will make minor and technical amendments to clarify that information obtained under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 can be shared by the ATO, in particular with a taxpayer about whom the information relates. The amendments will also allow AUSTRAC to share financial intelligence information with IBAC.

I would like to focus particularly on the provision regarding psychoactive substances and on the amendments that deal with gun related crime. The new psychoactive substances are designed to mimic the psychoactive effect of illicit drugs. However, their chemical structures are not captured by existing controls on those drugs. Synthetic psychoactive substances can pose as serious a risk to the community as traditional illicit drugs, as we have seen through he tragic deaths of many young people across Australia. New psychoactive substances have been a growing problem for governments in Australia and overseas in recent years. Governments progressively ban these substances as evidence about their use and harm becomes available, yet manufacturers can alter the composition of these substances to avoid the law.

To address this serious community safety issue, the Commonwealth government has introduced this legislation to ban the importation of psychoactive substances, unless they have a legitimate use. These legislative changes will put us ahead of criminals. The ban will close the loophole that allows people to deliberately avoid prosecution by slightly changing the chemical structure of banned substances. The bill will introduce offences into the Criminal Code to ban the importation of substances, based on their psychoactive effect, and where they are presented as alternatives to illicit drugs. It will also amend the Customs Act to allow the officers of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and the Australian Federal Police to stop these drugs, seize them and destroy them before they can be put on the market. It will be up to a person whose goods have been seized on suspicion of being a new psychoactive substance to show why they should be returned to them—that is, by showing that they have a legitimate use, such as for foods or as medicinal, industrial, agricultural and veterinary chemicals. This approach will operate alongside existing serious drug offences. It will reduce the availability of potentially harmful new substances, giving authorities time to place appropriate control around them.

Might I say that I have listened to the arguments of those who would like to liberalise drugs in this country and I simply disagree with them. Those who argue that that is about personal freedoms I think ignore the serious social impacts, particularly on our young people—the serious health and other impacts of drug use, particularly on our young people. They ignore the fact that this does not just impact on those individuals who are drawn into these things. It often impacts on those around them. It impacts on their families and in some cases it impacts on other members of the community, where they are drugs that may cause violence or may lead people into crime. So, when we are talking about regulating drugs or psychoactive substances let's not pretend that this is somehow all about personal freedoms. It is also about the protection of our community and it is particularly about the protection of our young people and our children. It is something I am very committed to, and I know the government is very committed to it.

On the firearms amendments, in the lead-up to the 2013 election the coalition undertook to implement tougher penalties for gun related crime. We are following through on that promise by creating a more comprehensive set of offences and penalties for the trafficking of firearms and firearm parts.

In 2012 firearms were identified as being the type of weapon used in 25 per cent of homicides in Australia. Currently, criminals could potentially evade firearms trafficking offences and penalties by breaking firearms down and trafficking their parts. This bill will close this gap by enabling convictions for trafficking those parts. To prevent this the bill creates a new offence for trafficking firearms and firearm parts into and out of Australia, and extends the existing offences of cross-border disposal or acquisition of a firearm, and the taking or sending of a firearm across borders within Australia, to include firearm parts. We know that under the legislation personal protection is not considered a reason to own any kind of firearm.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Criminology supports the view that firearm reforms have helped to reduce firearm misuse. Since the firearm reforms in 1996 there has been a significant decrease in firearm homicides and suicides. Firearm homicides are down from 99 victims and 32 per cent of all murder victims in 1996 to 47 victims and 19 per cent of all murder victims in 2013. Surely that is something we should be very pleased about as a nation. The rate of firearm suicides decreased in Australia after the introduction of tighter ownership controls. It is therefore vital that we continue to ensure the trafficking of firearms is outlawed and serious penalties are applied.

The introduction of mandatory minimum sentences of five years imprisonment for firearms trafficking offences is an important aspect of the government's strategy to stop illegal guns and drugs at the border. The introduction of the penalty was part of a suite of election commitments made in the government's policy to tackle crime, in which we detailed a range of measures to support our approach to eliminating these types of crimes. The government regards firearms trafficking as being amongst the most serious of crimes, particularly given its ability to facilitate violent and potentially deadly criminal acts. One only needs to look at what we have seen in recent years in parts of Western Sydney, with some of the wars between rival gangs, to see that in some areas of our country this has unfortunately become all too common. The government therefore believes that mandatory minimum sentences are necessary and will act as a strong deterrent to those who would otherwise engage in illicit firearms trafficking.

The bill introduces mandatory minimum sentences of five years imprisonment for offenders charged with trafficking firearms or firearm parts. The minimum mandatory sentence will not, however, apply to minors. The introduction of even a small number of firearms or firearms parts into the illicit market can have a significant impact on the community. This provision aims to ensure that offenders receive sentences proportionate to the seriousness of their offending. The government believes that mandatory minimum sentences will act as a strong deterrent for those who would otherwise engage in illicit firearms trafficking.

Debate adjourned.