Dr. Walker questions the Attorney General regarding the Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000, specifically concerning statute of limitations and the value of a confiscated property. The Attorney General provides details on the Act's application and ongoing review.

AnsweredQoN 662Legislative Council
Asked
15 June 2023
Portfolio
parliamentary secretary representing the Attorney General

QuestionView source ↗

CRIMINAL PROPERTY CONFISCATION ACT
662. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Attorney General:
I refer the Attorney General to the
confiscation by the state of a home in City Beach that had been used to
cultivate cannabis some 20 years ago, as outlined in the Subiaco Post on
1 April 2023.
(1) Is there any statute of
limitation built into the Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000?
(2) If no to (1), will the government consider adding
one as part of its ongoing review of our confiscation laws?
(3) What is the
estimated value of the confiscated property in this case, given that the City
of Cambridge had previously attempted to have it demolished?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for some notice
of the question. The following answer has been provided to me today by the
Attorney General.
(1) Generally,
there is no time limitation for the commencement of actions under the Criminal
Property Confiscation Act 2000. However, in relation to the confiscation of
property under section 8 of the confiscation act—that is, on the basis
that a person has been declared a drug trafficker under section 32A of the
Misuse of Drugs Act 1981—the offence in respect of which the person is
declared a drug trafficker must have been committed after the commencement of
the confiscation act on 1 January 2001. In the case referred to in the Subiaco Post , the offence relied upon by the
state in the confiscation action was committed in 2013. Confiscation
action in respect of the property was also commenced in 2013.
(2) The review
into the Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000 was completed by the former
Chief Justice Hon Wayne Martin. The review report is being carefully
considered, and any further action will be the subject of consideration by
cabinet.
(3) A kerbside
assessment obtained on 10 December 2020 from a licensed land valuer estimated
the property value to be in the order of $1 375 000.

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