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STATE DRUG CRIME COMMISSION (AMENDMENT) BILL
1990
NEW SOUTH WALES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This Explanatory Note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament)
The objects of this Bill are to amend the State Drug Crime Commission Act 1985
so as:
(a)
to rename that Act as the New South Wales Crime Commission Act 1985;
and
(b)
to rename the State Drug Crime Commission as the New South Wales
Crime Commission and the State Drug Crime Commission Management
Committee as the New South Wales Crime Commission Management
Committee; and
(c)
to simplify and generalise the expression "relevant offence" used in that Act;
and
to ensure that the Commission's powers of inquiry are not limited to the
(d)
Commission's powers to investigate matters referred to it by the
Management Committee; and
(e)
to enable the Commission to refer evidence of a New South Wales offence
directly to the Director of Public Prosecutions rather than, as is currently the
case, to the Attorney General; and
to enable the Commission to refer information concerning the official
(f)
conduct of the personnel of certain State agencies to the principal officer of
the agency concerned or (if the officer concerned is the principal officer of
an agency) to the relevant Minister for the agency; and
(g)
to ensure that the Commission is able to liaise with persons and bodies other
than, as is currently the case, merely other law enforcement agencies; and
(h)
to enable the Commission to make use of the services of members of the
Police Force of the Commonwealth, or of a Territory or of another State,
Clause 1 specifies the short title of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on a day or days
to be proclaimed.
Clause 3 is a formal provision that gives effect to the Schedules of amendments
to the State Drug Crime Commission Act 1985.
Clause 4 is a formal provision that gives effect to the Schedule of amendments to
the Defamation Act 1974.
SCHEDULE 1 - AMENDMENT OF STATE DRUG CRIME COMMISSION
ACT 1985
Schedule 1 (L) amends section 1 (Short title) so as to rename the Principal Act
as the New South Wales Crime Commission Act 1985.
Schedule 1 (2) (a) and (c), (3) and (10) amend sections 3 (Definitions), 5 (The
Commission) and 24 (The Management Committee) so as to rename the State Drug
Crime Commission as the New South Wales Crime Commission and the State Drug
Crime Commission Management Committee as the New South Wales Crime
Commission Management Committee.
Schedule 1 (2) (b) replaces the definition of "investigation" in section 3 with a new
definition that makes it clear that an investigation refers only to the investigation by
the Commission of I matter that has been referred to it by the Management
Committee.
Schedule l (2) (d) and (e) amend the definition of "member of the staff of the
Commission" in section 3 as a consequence of the amendments to section 32 to be
effected by ScheduIe 1 ( I
2).
Schedule I (2) (f) amends the definition of "relevant offence" in section 3 so as
to generalise and simplify that definition.
ScheduIe 1 (2) (g) omits section 3 (1A) as a consequence of the amendment to
the definition of "relevant offence" in section 3 to be effected by Schedule 1 (2) ( 1 ) .
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State Drug Crime Commission (Amendment) I990
Schedule l (4) (a) amends section 6 (Principal functions of the Commission) so
as to ensure that the Commission's general powers of inquiry are not limited by the
powers of investigation expressly conferred on it by the Principal Act.
Schedule 1 (4) (b) further amends section 6 so as to ensure that the Commission
may pass on to the appropriate authorities information or evidence that it obtains
otherwise than in the course of its investigations.
Schedule 1 (4) (c) further amends section 6 so as to enable the Commission to
refer evidence of a New South Wales offence directly to the Director of Public
Prosecutions rather than, as is currently the case, to the Attorney General. Evidence
of other offences will continue to be referred to the Attorney General.
Schedule 1 (4) (d) further amends section 6 so as to enable the Commission to
refer information concerning the official conduct of the personnel of certain State
agencies to the principal officer of the agency concerned or (if the officer concerned
is the principal officer of an agency) to the relevant Minister for the agency.
Schedule 1 (4) (e) further amends section 6 so as to abolish the existing
requirement that the Commission provide the Management Committee with full
details of evidence furnished to the Attorney General or to the Director of Public
Prosecutions under that section.
Schedule 1 (5) amends section 7 (Liaison with other bodies) so as to put beyond
doubt that the Commission can liaise with persons and bodies other than law
enforcement agencies.
Schedule 1 (6) amends section 9 (Delegation by Commission) so as to provide that
the only power that the Commission is not empowered to delegate is the power of
delegation conferred by that section.
Schedule 1 (7) amends section 14 (Reimbursement of expenses of witnesses) so
as to remove the reference in that section to a prescribed scale of costs. No scale of
costs is currently prescribed or proposed to be prescribed.
Schedule 1 (8) amends section 18 (Failure of witnesses to attend and answer
questions etc.) so as to remove a provision that allows a person to refuse to produce
a document or thing that relates to proceedings for an offence in respect of which
a charge has been laid.
Schedule 1 (9) extends section 22 (Contempt of Commission) so as to apply the
section to persons who hinder or obstruct the Commission's staff in the exercise of
the Commission's functions.
Schedule 1 (11) amends section 25 (Functions of the Management Committee)
so as to ensure that the Committee may refer matters to the Commission only if they
are of a kind in respect of which ordinary police methods of investigation are unlikely
to be effective.
Schedule 1 (12) (a) and (14) (g) amend section 32 (Staff of Commission) and
Schedule 1 so as to replace references to the repealed Public Service Act 1979 with
references to the Public Sector Management Act 1988.
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Schedule 1 (12) (c) further amends section 32 so as to enable the Commission to
make use of the services of members of the Police Force of the Commonwealth, or
of a Territory or of another State, rather than, as is currently the case, members of
the New South Wales Police Force only.
Schedule 1 (13) amends section 36 (Proceedings for offences) so as to ensure that
sentences of imprisonment imposed in respect of offences arising under the Principal
Act may be made to run consecutively, rather than concurrently, with other sentences
of imprisonment to which convicted persons may be subject. The proposed
subsection will apply notwithstanding any other Act or law to the contrary in
particular, it will apply notwithstanding section 444 of the Crimes Act 1900 which
currently restricts the power of a Local Court to impose concurrent sentences.
Schedule 1 (14) (a)(f) amend Schedule 1 (Provisions relating to the Members of
the Commission) so as:
(a) to abolish the existing age restrictions that apply to members of the
Commission; and
(b) to provide that, in the absence of the Chairperson of the Commission and
in the event that an acting chairperson is not appointed, the senior available
member (determined by Iength of service or, where length of service is equal
by such other criterion as the Minister may direct) is to act as chairperson;
and
(G) to provide that a member of the Commission who is acting as chairperson
is not to be taken to be absent from his or her office as a member while so
acting; and
(d) to provide that, in the event of a vacancy in the office of a member of the
Commission, the vacancy does not have to be filled unless the Commission
has ceased to be duly constituted.
Schedule 1 (15) amends Schedule 2 (Provisions relating to the Procedure of the
Commission) so as:
(a) to provide that a quorum of the Commission is to consist of the Chairperson
(or acting chairperson) of the Commission together with any one other
member; and
(b) to make an amendment consequential on the amendment to be effected by
Schedule 1 (14) (b).
SCHEDULE 2 - FURTHER AMENDMENT OF STATE DRUG CRIME
COMMISSION ACT 1985 IN RELATION TO PENALTIES
Schedule 2 (2) increases the maximum monetary penalty that may be imposed for
an offence under section 13 (Hearings) from $2,000 to $10,000 and the maximum
term of imprisonment that may be imposed for such an offence from 1 year to 2 years.
Schedule 2 (4) increases the maximum monetary penalty that may be imposed for
an offence under section 18 (Failure of witnesses to attend and answer questions etc.)
4
State Drug Crime Commission (Amendment} 1990
from $1,000 to $10,000 and the maximum term of imprisonment that may be imposed
for such an offence from 6 months to 2 years.
Schedule 2 (5) (a) increases the maximum monetary penalty that may be imposed
for an offence under subsection (2) of section 20 (False or misleading evidence) from
$20,000 to $50,000.
Schedule 2 (5) (b) and (c) increase the maximum monetary penalty that may be
imposed for an offence under subsection (4) of section 20 from $2,000 to $10,000 and
the maximum term of imprisonment that may be imposed for such an offence from
1 year to 2 years.
Schedule 2 (6) increases the maximum monetary penalty that may be imposed for
an offence under section 22 (Contempt of Commission) from $2,000 to $10,000 and
the maximum term of imprisonment that may be imposed for such an offence from
1 year to 2 years.
The Schedule also changes, from dollar amounts to penalty units, the manner in
which monetary penalties are specified in the Principal Act.
By virtue of section 56 of the Interpretation Act 1987, one penalty unit is
equivalent to $100.
SCHEDULE 3 - AMENDMENT OF DEFAMATION ACT 1974
Schedule 3 (1) inserts a new section 17M. The proposed section confers absolute
privilege on publications made to or by the New South Wales Crime Commission in
relation to the exercise of the Commission's functions. The proposed section has
effect in relation to past, as well as future, publications.
Schedule 3 (2) amends Schedule 2 (Proceedings of Public Concern and' Official
and Public Documents and Records) so as to extend the protection of section 24 of
the Principal Act to reports of proceedings at public hearings of the Commission.
5