Hansard debates

Mr NOONAN (Minister for Police) — I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Speech as follows incorporated into Hansard under sessional orders:

The focus of serious and organised crime groups in Victoria has expanded from illicit drugs to also include illicit firearms activity. The presence of illicit firearms in the community presents a threat to community safety, given the fear in the broader community about violent situations occurring in public places and the risk of potential victims. The Victorian government is committed to ensuring that Victoria Police are appropriately equipped with the necessary powers in order to stem the flow of illegitimate firearms and prosecute those individuals responsible for engaging in unlawful activities involving firearms.

The bill will make amendments to the Firearms Act 1996 (the Firearms Act) which are aimed at strengthening Victoria Police's ability to be able to effectively combat serious and organised firearm-related crime and the illegal firearm market. The bill will also make an amendment to the Crimes Act 1958 (the Crimes Act) to assist police in their efforts to tackle illicit firearm activity.

The bill makes an amendment to the definition of 'evidence of possession' under section 145 of the Firearms Act. The purpose of this amendment is primarily to target serious and organised crime groups who increasingly engage in the trafficking of black and grey market firearms, which are usually stolen and subsequently used to assist crime gangs in the commission of serious crimes.

The amendment to section 145 will remove the current definition of 'evidence of possession' and introduce a new 'deemed possession' provision by providing that evidence of possession will include a person 'occupying, or being in the care of, control or management of premises, or is in charge of a vehicle where the firearm is found'. As a result, the amendment will shift the focus away from a person's relationship with a firearm to that of a relationship between the person and the premises or vehicle where the firearm is located.

This is a necessary amendment to the Firearms Act, as Victoria Police hold serious ongoing concerns about the illegal use of firearms in the community. The deeming provision will assist Victoria Police in dealing with unregistered firearms, found largely in the possession of, or on premises of, serious organised crime groups, such as bikie groups. The provision will also help to alleviate frustration faced by Victoria Police when dealing with firearms they are locating on premises or in vehicles and where gang members deny any knowledge of the firearm if, in fact, a person does not have a firearm physically located on them. Typical scenarios for Victoria Police include firearms being transported in vehicles or where there are multiple persons in the same room. Persons involved in these scenarios commonly deny knowledge of the firearm being present and/or claim that it is not their firearm. Additionally, the reluctance of witnesses and associates to provide evidence is also hampering Victoria Police's efforts in facilitating a successful prosecution against a person involved in these situations.

The proposed amendment will place an evidential onus on the accused to provide that they did not know, and could not be reasonably expected to know, that the firearm was on the premises or in the vehicle, or that they believed on reasonable grounds that the firearm was in the possession of another person who was lawfully authorised under the Firearms Act to possess the firearm. The prosecution will still retain the legal onus of proving all of the elements of the offence to the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt. The exceptions provided for in the new provision relate to matters that are solely within the knowledge of the defendant.

The government is keen to reassure the community that the intention of the new deeming provision is not to inadvertently capture innocent parties, such as victims of family violence. Likewise, the provision is not intended to capture a driver of a public transport vehicle on which a firearm may be found, as the driver will not know or be reasonably expected to know that a firearm has been left within the vehicle. The overarching rationale for this amendment is to remove illegal firearms from the community as well as overcoming problems that are encountered by police dealing with, and investigating, serious and organised criminal activity, rather than targeting innocent persons, such as terrified victims in a family violence situation.

The bill will make amendments to the Firearms Act in order to strengthen firearms trafficking provisions, by amending section 7C of the act to lower the trafficable quantity of unregistered firearms that a person must possess for that possession to amount to trafficking, from the current amount of 10 unregistered firearms to 3 unregistered firearms. The bill will also amend section 101A of the act, in relation to the prohibition on the acquisition or disposal of trafficable quantities of firearms, to provide that a person, who is not the holder of a dealers licence, must not acquire or dispose of more than three unregistered firearms within a period of 12 months. The current limit of 10 unregistered firearms within a period of seven days can be too readily exploited by persons seeking to avoid the higher penalty attached to the trafficking offence by consistently acquiring and disposing of limited quantities of, say, 10 unregistered firearms on a weekly basis.

The amendments to trafficking provisions will bring Victoria into line with other jurisdictions that currently provide for similar thresholds and specified time periods. The amendments are necessary and appropriate, given that Victoria Police hold concerns about instances where unregistered firearms have been purchased and that the current trafficking offences are not considered to be adequate in order to deter traffickers and effect prosecutions.

The bill will also make amendments to the Firearms Act in respect of the unlawful manufacturing of firearms. Given that unlawful manufacturing of firearms is a serious crime which can lead to unregistered and unlawful firearms circulating in the community, particularly amongst serious and organised crime groups, the bill will increase the current penalties relating to such an offence and, more importantly, separate the offence of unlawful manufacture from the existing offence of carrying on a business of dealing in firearms without a licence. The increased penalties will range from 600 penalty units or five years imprisonment for the unauthorised manufacture of category A or B long arms and paintball markers, to 1200 penalty units or 10 years imprisonment for the unauthorised manufacture of category C, D or E long arms or handguns. The amendments will bring Victoria in line with other jurisdictions, providing for similar penalties and a specific offence for unlawful manufacture.

Finally, the bill will introduce a new theft of a firearm offence into the Crimes Act 1958. The new offence will carry a higher penalty than the offence of theft under section 74 of the Crimes Act, in recognition that the theft of firearms can increase the illegitimate flow of firearms in the community and lead to very serious criminal activity.

I commend the bill to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr CLARK (Box Hill).

Debate adjourned until Wednesday, 2 September.