Prime Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Home Affairs
Sydney
The Gillard Government will take a plan to introduce national anti-gang laws, national unexplained wealth laws and reforms to tackle the illegal firearms market to the next Council of Australian Governments meeting in April.
The Prime Minister will seek agreement at COAG from States and Territories to refer powers to the Commonwealth to further strengthen Australia’s anti-gang laws.
Organised criminals move from state to state. They also have assets in different states and overseas. It is vital that state and federal law enforcement agencies have the powers they need to break up gangs and seize their assets. National anti-gang and asset seizure laws will help ensure police have the powers they need and there are no safe havens.
National Criminal Organisation Laws
Criminal organisation laws give a court the power to declare that a particular organisation is a criminal organisation and then impose control orders on designated members. These orders prevent members engaging in activities like meeting with other club members, holding a liquor licence, visiting clubhouses or holding weapons or explosives licences.
A number of States and the Northern Territory have introduced different types of criminal organisation legislation. Some have not.
The introduction of national criminal organisation laws will enable a court to declare criminal groups and make orders relating to members of those groups – with immediate effect across the country.
National laws will prevent members of organised criminal groups from easily shifting their operations to other States and Territories and eliminate the need for complex mutual recognition laws and procedures.
National laws will ensure the most efficient and seamless approach to controlling criminal organisations and combatting organised crime. To implement these laws the Commonwealth requires a referral of powers from the States.
National Unexplained Wealth Laws
In 2012 the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement recommended the Commonwealth seek a referral of power from the States and Territories to establish national unexplained wealth laws. This was a bipartisan recommendation.
National unexplained wealth laws are an important tool in the fight against serious and organised crime. Money creates power in the criminal underworld. Most criminals are more afraid of losing their money than going to jail.
National unexplained wealth laws would give police across the country more power to seize cash, cars and houses that have been obtained illegally and reverse the onus of proof so that criminals have to explain how they obtained their cash or assets through legitimate means.
Having national unexplained wealth laws would benefit all states and territories. They would not prevent States and Territories from operating their own unexplained wealth regimes if they wish to. It would give them the option of using their state laws or the national system. The proceeds of asset seizures would be shared between jurisdictions. It would mean more money seized from criminals and more money for states and territories.
National unexplained wealth laws also require a referral of powers to the Commonwealth.
The Police Federation of Australia and the Australian Federal Police Association have recently called for national unexplained wealth laws. In a statement to the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs they said:
“A truly national, harmonised unexplained wealth regime is needed to effectively target those who benefit most from organised crime in this country. Those who gain the most from criminal enterprise are often those most disconnected from it”.
Working Together to Tackle the Illegal Firearms Market
The Prime Minister will also seek COAG’s agreement to implement the package of reforms to tackle the illegal firearms market that Minister Clare took to the Standing Council on Police and Emergency Management in 2012.
These reforms are designed to tackle the illicit firearms market from every angle – to seize illegal firearms, to break the code of silence, to improve our ability to trace illegal firearms, to strengthen laws and harden the border.
The Commonwealth will seek COAG agreement to:
· Immediately establish an Australian Ballistic Identification Network (ABIN). The ABIN uses advanced technology to undertake ballistics analysis of firearms that are seized from criminals. It can link firearms seized to previous crimes. The ABIN is currently used by the Australian Federal Police and the NSW Police Force. Rolling out the network nationwide will build a database of all weapons used in crimes recovered by Police in every State and Territory. It will be able to be accessed by Police Forces in every Australian jurisdiction.
· Give Police additional search powers to target offenders who are banned from carrying or owning firearms. States and Territories should introduce laws to give police the legal authority to search a person who is subject to a Firearm Prohibition Order (FPO), as well as any vehicle or premises they are in, for the presence of a firearm without the need to demonstrate reasonable suspicion. South Australia is currently the only jurisdiction that gives the police these powers.
· Identify and remedy gaps and inconsistencies in state and territory firearms laws. States and Territories to fix gaps and inconsistencies in their firearm legislation.
· Continue co-operation to develop a national interface to track firearms. There are currently more than 30 different registers and databases across federal, state and territory agencies which are not linked. A national firearms interface is critical to sharing information between law enforcement agencies around the country – and allows a firearm to be tracked through the course of its life.
In addition to these measures the Commonwealth Government has passed legislation through the House of Representatives to create new aggravated offences for trafficking firearms or firearm parts across State or Territory borders, or Australia’s national border. These new offences will carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The Commonwealth has also reached an agreement with the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to deliver firearm identification courses to Federal, State and Territory police and firearms officers from Commonwealth agencies including the Customs and Border Protection Service. The course will enhance the skills of Australian law enforcement in identifying firearm markings, parts and components.
Minister Clare reached agreement with the ATF to provide this training during a visit to the United States in July 2012 and this training is now occurring in Sydney.
The Commonwealth Government is also developing further measures to tackle organised crime and these will be announced in due course.
