❓ Question regarding the government's commitment to tackling home invasions and burglaries, specifically concerning the Criminal Law Amendment (Home Burglary and Other Offences) Bill 2014 and the opposition's stance on it.
AnsweredQoN 56Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LAW AND ORDER — HOME INVASION LEGISLATION
56. MR N.W. MORTON to the Minister for
Police:
The first piece of legislation that
will be debated in this house today is the Criminal Law Amendment (Home Burglary
and Other Offences) Bill 2014. Can the minister outline the government's
commitment to tackle serious home invasions and burglaries in the community?
56. MR N.W. MORTON to the Minister for
Police:
The first piece of legislation that
will be debated in this house today is the Criminal Law Amendment (Home Burglary
and Other Offences) Bill 2014. Can the minister outline the government's
commitment to tackle serious home invasions and burglaries in the community?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Forrestfield
for this question and for his ongoing commitment to community safety in Western
Australia. It is really great to be back in Parliament —
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Bassendean, I call you to order for the first time.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : As I was saying, it is a great pleasure to be back in
Parliament to resume debate on one of the government's key election
commitments—the Criminal Law Amendment (Home Burglary and Other
Offences) Bill 2014. This legislation will have Western Australia bringing in
the toughest penalties in Australia for recidivist offenders who break into
homes and also for those people who, in the course of a home invasion, commit
serious offences such as sexual or physical assault against the home owners.
This legislation has been put in place in response to extensive community
consultation that I and other members of our Liberal–National team had
in the lead-up to the 2013 state election campaign. The community has
overwhelmingly expressed its frustration with the existing system, particularly
some of the sentences that have been handed down when people's houses
were broken into and, in the course of that aggravated burglary, the offenders
seriously assaulted and injured people, often in sustained and violent attacks.
Under this legislation, should an offender receive a conviction for a rape
committed in the course of a home burglary, they will be looking at a minimum
penalty of 15 years in jail. For a serious assault, they are looking at seven
years and six months' jail. For an aggravated indecent assault, they
are looking at a minimum term of five years and three months' jail.
These, of course, are the proposed new mandated minimum penalties.
The key piece of this legislation,
which people in the community are most interested in, relates to changing the
counting rules around the three-strikes legislation. Previously, offenders were
able to bundle their offences together and have them heard in one court
appearance. They may have had a number of convictions as a result of that one
appearance in court and that could be counted as a strike. No more—once
this legislation goes through, for adult offenders, every home burglary offence
committed over three separate days will result in jail for a mandatory minimum
term of two years. This is a key piece of legislation that people in the
community have demanded from this government. They are really interested to
know where the opposition stands on this.
Mrs
M.H. Roberts : This is what you said a year ago. It has been waiting on the
notice paper for three years!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : There is a reason for that.
Mrs
M.H. Roberts interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Midland. Minister, you have been going for
four minutes now. Wind it up.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : I am winding up, Mr Speaker.
We need to know on this side of the
house whether the opposition supports the amendment on the notice paper of the
would-be Attorney General, the member for Butler. The member for Butler's
amendment basically provides a get out of jail —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
The member for Butler's amendment would —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members! Minister, a quick wind-up; thank you.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
The member for Butler's amendment has been put on the notice paper on
behalf of the Labor opposition. It will basically give a free get-out-of-jail
card to anybody under the influence of methamphetamine. Anyone who is coming
down from a methamphetamine binge would not be subject to the mandatory
penalties in our legislation. It will water the legislation down and basically
make it unworkable. The government will not accept the amendment. We need to
know whether that is the position of the Labor opposition or that of the
would-be Attorney General, the member for Butler.
for this question and for his ongoing commitment to community safety in Western
Australia. It is really great to be back in Parliament —
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Bassendean, I call you to order for the first time.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : As I was saying, it is a great pleasure to be back in
Parliament to resume debate on one of the government's key election
commitments—the Criminal Law Amendment (Home Burglary and Other
Offences) Bill 2014. This legislation will have Western Australia bringing in
the toughest penalties in Australia for recidivist offenders who break into
homes and also for those people who, in the course of a home invasion, commit
serious offences such as sexual or physical assault against the home owners.
This legislation has been put in place in response to extensive community
consultation that I and other members of our Liberal–National team had
in the lead-up to the 2013 state election campaign. The community has
overwhelmingly expressed its frustration with the existing system, particularly
some of the sentences that have been handed down when people's houses
were broken into and, in the course of that aggravated burglary, the offenders
seriously assaulted and injured people, often in sustained and violent attacks.
Under this legislation, should an offender receive a conviction for a rape
committed in the course of a home burglary, they will be looking at a minimum
penalty of 15 years in jail. For a serious assault, they are looking at seven
years and six months' jail. For an aggravated indecent assault, they
are looking at a minimum term of five years and three months' jail.
These, of course, are the proposed new mandated minimum penalties.
The key piece of this legislation,
which people in the community are most interested in, relates to changing the
counting rules around the three-strikes legislation. Previously, offenders were
able to bundle their offences together and have them heard in one court
appearance. They may have had a number of convictions as a result of that one
appearance in court and that could be counted as a strike. No more—once
this legislation goes through, for adult offenders, every home burglary offence
committed over three separate days will result in jail for a mandatory minimum
term of two years. This is a key piece of legislation that people in the
community have demanded from this government. They are really interested to
know where the opposition stands on this.
Mrs
M.H. Roberts : This is what you said a year ago. It has been waiting on the
notice paper for three years!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : There is a reason for that.
Mrs
M.H. Roberts interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Midland. Minister, you have been going for
four minutes now. Wind it up.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : I am winding up, Mr Speaker.
We need to know on this side of the
house whether the opposition supports the amendment on the notice paper of the
would-be Attorney General, the member for Butler. The member for Butler's
amendment basically provides a get out of jail —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members!
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
The member for Butler's amendment would —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Members! Minister, a quick wind-up; thank you.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY :
The member for Butler's amendment has been put on the notice paper on
behalf of the Labor opposition. It will basically give a free get-out-of-jail
card to anybody under the influence of methamphetamine. Anyone who is coming
down from a methamphetamine binge would not be subject to the mandatory
penalties in our legislation. It will water the legislation down and basically
make it unworkable. The government will not accept the amendment. We need to
know whether that is the position of the Labor opposition or that of the
would-be Attorney General, the member for Butler.
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