Mr PERRETT (Gympie—LNP) (5.20 pm): I rise to speak on the Police Powers and
Responsibilities and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021. This bill proposes several amendments
to address knife crime, parole issues, enhance intelligence gathering, update Commonwealth child
sexual abuse offences in Queensland legislation, and create indictable offences for injuring a
Queensland Corrective Services dog or Queensland police dog or horse.
According to the explanatory notes, the main objectives of this bill are to reduce knife crime by
expanding the police banning notice regime to apply to a person who unlawfully possesses a knife in a
relevant public place; create administrative and operational efficiencies for the Queensland Police
Service and enhance intelligence gathering about dangerous drugs; ensure Commonwealth child
sexual abuse offences are updated in Queensland legislation; create indictable offences for wilfully and
unlawfully killing or seriously injuring a corrective services dog or a QPS dog or horse, reflecting the
the seriousness of the offences in line with community expectations; amend a number of issues regarding
parole and the Parole Board; limit re-traumatisation of victims’ family and friends by introducing a new
framework for parole decisions about life-sentenced prisoners who have committed multiple murders or
who has murdered a child; strengthen the no-body no-parole framework to incentivise early prisoner
cooperation to locate a homicide victim’s remains, and provide the Parole Board Queensland with
greater flexibility to respond to increased workload and the risks different prisoners pose to the community
safety.
Much was made by the minister in his speech that these measures will help to make our
community safer and ensure that those who commit crimes are subject to adequate penalties. In reality,
as the statement of reservation notes, these amendments appear to be a disparate collection of
measures bundled together to give the appearance of a concerned response to curb crime. They are
issues that do not focus on reducing crime but rather address issues raised by police in the operation
of their duties.
Law and order issues have featured as one of the top 10 concerns worrying Gympie residents in
every electorate-wide survey I have conducted since I was elected in 2015. Residents are continually
concerned about crime and sentencing, penalties for criminal offenders, policing and youth crime. The
government’s response to criminal activity and its record on reducing crime is woeful. Queenslanders
need and deserve better than that. The bill has numerous technical measures which have not been
previously legislated. It is hard not to conclude that they have been added solely to make this legislation
appear to be a complete policy package.
This bill aims to expand the police banning notice regime. It will empower police to exclude
persons in possession of a knife in contravention of section 51 of the Weapons Act for a period of no
longer than one month. The focus here is on knife related crime in key entertainment areas such as
safe night precincts. Everyone should feel safe when going out at night, which is why the LNP supported
the trial of handheld scanners to detect knives. According to the explanatory notes, police are increasingly concerned with the disregard shown by some offenders. They even made references to
two recent murders involving knives in safe night precincts. Such changes should be made in a timely
manner, which is something the government has failed to do.
Notwithstanding the changes to knife crime issues, it is important to recognise that in some
industries people need to carry a knife in their work. Knives are a legitimate tool of trade for primary
producers. Only two months ago a 75-year-old grandfather in Chinchilla was innocently caught for
carrying his tool of trade. For those in the government who do not understand the working culture
outside the city, it is an essential piece of equipment. Just as a firearm is a tool of trade, so is a knife.
A primary producer always carries a knife—a penknife or a pocketknife—on his belt.
While the LNP supports the concept of no-body no-parole, the amendments relating to the Parole
Board show that it is failing. It is about covering the mismanagement of parole by the government. The
government is asking for more time. According to the explanatory notes, the amendments will provide
the temporary extension of parole consideration time frames under section 193(3) for a period of
six months. This extension will provide an additional 60 days from receipt of a parole application for the
board to decide. Commencement of temporary extended time frames will be by proclamation. This is
simply an admission that it has failed to keep up with the applications. They are only temporary
measures to simply clean up the backlog.
The new norm for the government as a solution for not meeting deadlines, for not being
productive or addressing issues in a timely manner is to create extensions. There is no explanation in
the explanatory notes or the first reading speech how this extension will lead to better or informed
decisions from the board. All this does is massage statistics about delivering within time frames. It will
neither assist the applicants nor the community. It will not assist Queenslanders and make them safer.
It will not save costs to the taxpayer.
The statement of reservation notes that anecdotal evidence suggests that courts are discounting
sentences in the expectation that the Parole Board will be unable to hear applications within the
appropriate time. At the same time applications for judicial review are costing thousands of dollars and
consuming valuable court time because the board is unable to meet its obligations. It is disrespectful,
ignorant and shows poor governance to legislate to cover up mismanagement.
In dealing with criminal activity, with empowering our police the government is reactive; it is not
proactive. It prefers spin over substance. The minister has taken five years to finally participate in the
Enhanced National Intelligence Picture Illicit Drugs program which helps to disrupt local drug crime.
That is five years to engage in a program of chemically profiling domestic samples to assist in identifying
source countries and routes of manufacture. The government has taken more than two years to make
amendments to ensure police can use existing digital device inspection powers regarding child sexual
abuse cases. The recommendation from the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management
and Council for Attorneys-General was made in June 2019. The government has taken more than two
years to implement the recommendation which in June 2019 was described as something that should
be done as soon as practicable. The government and minister talk about being strong on borders and
about addressing crime, but the reality is that it is neither. I do not oppose the bill.
