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Amendment Bill 1997
Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.
(a)
to add the circumstance of being very substantially impaired by being
under the influence of a drug or a combination of drugs to the
circumstances in which a person may be convicted under the Crimes
Act 1900 of an aggravated offence relating to dangerous driving or
navigation occasioning death or grievous bodily harm,
(b)
to insert a general regulation-making power in the Crimes Act 1900
and to repeal certain specific regulation-making powers in that Act,
(c)
to expand the category of offences in respect of which the Supreme
Court and the District Court may receive and consider victim impact
statements under the Criminal Procedure Act 1986,
to require the Children's Court and a Local Court to receive a victim
impact statement under the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 if the
statement is given by a family victim (within the meaning of that Act)
for consideration in such a court,
to bring 2 offences involving assaults on police officers within the
scope of Part 9A (Summary disposal of indictable offences by Local
Courts) of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 so as to allow those
offences to be dealt with summarily by a Local Court in certain cases,
to make a consequential amendment to the Criminal Procedure
Regulation 1995.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on a day or
days to be appointed by proclamation.
Clause 3 is a formal provision giving effect to the amendments to the
Crimes Act 1900 set out in Schedule 1
Clause 4 is a formal provision giving effect to the amendments to the
Criminal Procedure Act 1986 set out in Schedule 2.
Clause 5 is a formal provision giving effect to the amendment to the
Criminal Procedure Regulation 1995 set out in Schedule 3.
Schedule 1
Amendment of Crimes Act 1900
Dangerous driving and dangerous navigation
Section 52A (2) of the Crimes Act 1900 provides that a person is guilty of the
offence of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death if the person
commits the offence of dangerous driving occasioning death in
circumstances of aggravation. Section 52A (4) is to the same effect with
regard to the offence of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous
bodily harm. Section 52A (7) specifies the circumstances of aggravation.
Schedule l [1] amends section 528 (7) so as to add to those circumstances of
aggravation the circumstance in which the accused's ability to drive was, at
the time of the relevant impact, very substantially impaired by the fact that
Explanatory note page 2
the accused was under the influence of a drug or a combination of drugs.
Schedule 1 [2] makes a consequential amendment to section 52A (8) (which
provides that it is a defence to a charge under section 52A if the death or
grievous bodily harm occasioned by the impact was not in any way
attributable to the relevant circumstance of aggravation).
Section 52B (2), (4), (7) and (8) parallel section 52A (2), (4), (7) and (8) in
relation to dangerous navigation. Schedule 1 [3] and [4] make the requisite
parallel amendments to section 52B (7) and (8).
Regulation-making power
At present, the Crimes Act 1900 does not contain a general
regulation-making power. Schedule 1 [9] inserts such a power in the usual
terms, and Schedule 1 [5] and [8] repeal various powers to make specific
regulations. Schedule 1 [6] and [7] make consequential amendments.
Schedule 2
Amendment of Criminal Procedure Act 1986
Victim impact statements
Schedule 2 [3] inserts proposed section 23AA (Application of Part) in Part
6A (Sentencing-victim impact statements) of the Criminal Procedure Act
1986. Part 6A currently applies only in relation to the Supreme Court and the
District Court and only in respect of an indictable offence that involves an act
of actual or threatened violence (including sexual assault) that is being dealt
with on indictment. The proposed section both expands the category of
offences in respect of which the Part applies and extends the application of
the Part (in a limited way) to the Children's Court and the Local Court.
Schedule 2 [1], [2], [4] and [5] make consequential amendments.
Schedule 2 [6] adds a proposed subsection to section 23C (When victim
impact statements may be received and considered by court) in Part 6A. The
proposed subsection has the effect of requiring the Children's Court and a
Local Court to receive a victim impact statement given by a family victim
(that is, a statement containing particulars of the impact of the death of the
primary victim of the relevant offence on the members of his or her
immediate family) for consideration in such a court. However, because of the
operation of the remainder of section 23C, the court must not consider the
statement in connection with the determination of the punishment for the
offence unless the court considers that it is appropriate to do so.
Explanatory note page 3
Assault of police officers
The Crimes Amendment (Assault of Police Officers) Act 1997 inserted section
60 (Assault of police officers) in the Crimes Act 1900. Section 60 (1) creates
the offences of assaulting, stalking, harassing and intimidating a police
officer while in the execution of the officer's duty where no actual bodily
harm is occasioned to the officer. Section 60 (2) creates the offence of
assaulting a police officer while in the execution of the officer's duty and by
the assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Section 60 (3) creates the offence
of maliciously by any means wounding, or inflicting grievous bodily harm
on, a police officer while in the execution of the officer's duty. All 3 offences
are currently wholly indictable offences.
Schedule 2 [8] inserts a reference to section 60 (2) in Table 1 to Part 9A of
the Criminal Procedure Act 1986. The effect of this is to require the offence
under that subsection to be dealt with summarily by a Local Court unless the
prosecuting authority or the person charged with the offence elects to have it
dealt with on indictment.
Schedule 2 [9] inserts a reference to section 60 (1) in Table 2 to that Part.
The effect of this is to require the offence under that subsection to be dealt
with summarily by a Local Court unless the prosecuting authority elects to
have it dealt with on indictment.
Schedule 2 [7] inserts a reference to section 60 (1) in section 33K (2) (a) of
the Criminal Procedure Act 1986. The effect of this is to limit the penalty that
the Local Court can impose for an offence under section 60 (1) to
imprisonment for 2 years, or a fine of 50 penalty units, or both. (By the
operation of section 33J, the maximum term of imprisonment that the Local
Court can impose for an offence under section 60 (2) is 2 years, and the
maximum fine it can impose for such an offence is 100 penalty units.)
Schedule 3
Amendment of Criminal Procedure
Regulation 1995
Schedule 3 amends clause 11B of the Criminal Procedure Regulation 1995
as a consequence of the amendment made to the Criminal Procedure Act
1986 by Schedule 2 [6].
Explanatory note page 4