Criminal Law Consolidation (Criminal Organisations - Prescribed Places) Amendment Bill – Second Reading speech

Wednesday 13 September 2023 

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (17:00): I rise to speak on the Criminal Law Consolidation (Criminal Organisations—Prescribed Places) Amendment Bill 2023. This government will pursue all options at our disposal to disrupt outlaw motorcycle gangs and their criminal activities. There is no place for drugs, violence and intimidation in our state. 

A recent High Court decision held that a set of regulations was invalidly made by our previous Liberal government. It was also held that reasonable notice needs to be given to an owner or occupier of a proposal to declare a place a 'prescribed place', even though those owners or occupiers are participants in criminal organisations. Members of my community would find it extraordinary that we are providing notices to criminal organisations to let them know we are going to disrupt their activities. 

Everyone in our state knows criminal activity is wrong, especially activities carried out by these groups. This bill therefore amends the act to provide that there is no obligation to provide procedural fairness in relation to the making of a declaration by regulation that an entity is a criminal organisation. An event is a 'prescribed event', or a place is a 'prescribed place', for the purposes of the definitions in the act. 

The bill also declares a list of properties to be 'prescribed places'. These have all previously been prescribed places for the purposes of the act. These properties are places that continue to be connected with and are at risk of being used as meeting places for criminal organisations. This includes properties at Cowirra, Mount Gambier and Wingfield. Any person who is a participant in a criminal organisation who enters, or attempts to enter, a prescribed place commits an offence. Participants include office holders, members and those seeking to be members of a criminal organisation. As my friend the Attorney-General said in the other place, and I quote: 

This government and previous Labor governments have a proud history of legislating to disrupt, destabilise and dismantle criminal organisations in South Australia, making our community a safer place for its law-abiding citizens. This Labor government has absolutely zero tolerance for the misery that outlaw motorcycle gangs bring on the community. 

There is no place for criminal organisations in South Australia and no place for violence in South Australia. I commend this bill to the house.