❓ Dr. Walker questions the Attorney General about the delay in responding to the Martin report on the Criminal Property Confiscation Act, highlighting a specific case of potential injustice. The Attorney General acknowledges the report and ongoing consideration, citing COVID-19 related delays.
AnsweredQoN 226Legislative Council
Asked
23 March 2022
Member
Portfolio
parliamentary secretary representing the Attorney General
QuestionView source ↗
CRIMINAL PROPERTY CONFISCATION ACT — MARTIN REVIEW —
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
226. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Attorney General:
I refer the Attorney General to the
Wayne Martin report into criminal confiscation, which referred to our current
laws as ''incoherent'' and ''unjust'', and note
that the report was commissioned almost three years ago and has now languished
on the Attorney's desk for close to two and a half years.
(1) Is the
Attorney General aware of the case of Mr Kenneth Williams, who faces the
seizure of his home as a result of charges that he grew five cannabis plants,
arguably for his own medical use?
(2) When can Mr
Williams and the Western Australian public at large expect a response from the
McGowan government to the Martin report, which goes to the very heart of our
legal system?
(3) What
measures, if any, does the Attorney intend to bring forward in the short to
medium term to rectify the injustices that
Justice Martin identified, and which we are still seeing reported on a frustratingly
frequent basis years later?
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
226. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Attorney General:
I refer the Attorney General to the
Wayne Martin report into criminal confiscation, which referred to our current
laws as ''incoherent'' and ''unjust'', and note
that the report was commissioned almost three years ago and has now languished
on the Attorney's desk for close to two and a half years.
(1) Is the
Attorney General aware of the case of Mr Kenneth Williams, who faces the
seizure of his home as a result of charges that he grew five cannabis plants,
arguably for his own medical use?
(2) When can Mr
Williams and the Western Australian public at large expect a response from the
McGowan government to the Martin report, which goes to the very heart of our
legal system?
(3) What
measures, if any, does the Attorney intend to bring forward in the short to
medium term to rectify the injustices that
Justice Martin identified, and which we are still seeing reported on a frustratingly
frequent basis years later?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for some notice of the question. I provide the following
response based on information provided to me by the Attorney General.
(1)–(3) In 2000, Parliament intentionally designed the
Criminal Property Confiscation Act to have a very significant deterrent
effect against dealing drugs. There have been calls for revisions to the act
under successive governments; however, the Attorney General has taken the
closest look at these concerns by appointing former
Chief Justice Wayne Martin, AC, QC, to conduct a comprehensive review. Mr
Martin's overarching recommendation was for the government to
consider repealing the act and replacing it with a completely new act. There were more than 60 other
recommendations, including many with the potential to have far- reaching
effects on the state's criminal property confiscation framework and, as
such, need to be carefully considered. Although significant resources in the
Department of Justice were redirected to the COVID-19 pandemic response,
detailed consideration of the Martin review is currently ongoing.
thank the member for some notice of the question. I provide the following
response based on information provided to me by the Attorney General.
(1)–(3) In 2000, Parliament intentionally designed the
Criminal Property Confiscation Act to have a very significant deterrent
effect against dealing drugs. There have been calls for revisions to the act
under successive governments; however, the Attorney General has taken the
closest look at these concerns by appointing former
Chief Justice Wayne Martin, AC, QC, to conduct a comprehensive review. Mr
Martin's overarching recommendation was for the government to
consider repealing the act and replacing it with a completely new act. There were more than 60 other
recommendations, including many with the potential to have far- reaching
effects on the state's criminal property confiscation framework and, as
such, need to be carefully considered. Although significant resources in the
Department of Justice were redirected to the COVID-19 pandemic response,
detailed consideration of the Martin review is currently ongoing.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.