Police Powers and Responsibilities and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021
Bill Story
The journey of this bill through Parliament, including debate and recorded votes.
Referred to Legal Affairs and Safety Committee
▸23 members spoke15 support1 oppose7 mixed
As the responsible Minister, introduced and strongly advocated for the bill, stating it introduces the toughest parole laws in the nation for child killers and multiple murderers.
“Under this bill, Queensland will have the toughest parole laws in the nation—tough parole laws for child killers and multiple murderers, the worst of the worst, and tough parole laws that will keep them behind bars for longer.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
As shadow minister, stated the LNP would not oppose the bill while criticising the government for delays in implementing measures and the crisis in the parole system.
“I state at the outset that the LNP will not be opposing this bill. However, there are a number of provisions contained within this bill that members on this side of the House will be speaking to, not the least of which are the changes to parole decisions and the delays around the processing of parole applications.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Spoke in support of the bill, emphasising the new parole framework for restricted prisoners and the government's commitment to protecting victims.
“The government is ensuring that the public interest is the primary consideration when deciding whether to make a restricted prisoner declaration. The government acknowledges the harm, grief and trauma that is caused by these prisoners.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Supported parole changes known as 'Sian's Law' but heavily criticised the bill for failing to fix the broken parole system and not addressing youth crime.
“As the Prisoners' Legal Service noted during the public hearing, there are no quick fixes for the parole crisis we are currently facing and, sadly, it seems this bill will do very little to fix our broken parole system.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Spoke in strong support of the bill and praised police, particularly highlighting the new protections for police dogs and horses.
“I commend this bill to the House, as I would commend any bill that supports the men and women of the Queensland Police Service who keep us safe on a 24/7 basis.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Welcomed amendments limiting retraumatisation of victims but criticised the temporary extension of parole time frames as an admission of government failure.
“Time and time again over the course of six or seven years under this Labor government, we have seen that they cannot get the systems right and they have to come in here with legislative amendment to cover up for their failings.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Supported the bill, particularly the restricted prisoner framework, while noting concerns about the parole system backlog that must be addressed urgently.
“Ultimately, Queenslanders are not interested in who makes the determination, just that justice is served and that systems which do not serve us well are rectified.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Strongly supported the bill, emphasising the importance of the no-body no-parole framework for providing closure to victims' families.
“We cannot imagine the slap in the face to a family where offenders do not cooperate or, even worse, actively thwart police attempts to recover a person's body, they are found guilty, sentenced and then in order to be paroled some 15 years later they finally disclose where the body is.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Heavily criticised the temporary extension of parole time frames as evidence the government has lost control of the Parole Board, detailing the backlog costs and judicial review applications.
“It is like a sprinter who says, 'I think I'll go for my personal best, but I'm not going to get it doing 100 metres. So you know what? We'll make it 90. Why not! Let's do it that way.'”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Strongly supported the parole amendments which he attributed to the 72,000-signature petition he tabled for the Kingi family, calling for the changes to be known as 'Sian's Law'.
“To her family, friends, our community and me, these new laws will be forever known as 'Sian's Law'. Her parents have told me they believe this is a fitting tribute and a lasting legacy to Sian.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Supported the bill, speaking particularly about the no-body no-parole framework and the importance of allowing families closure through locating victims' remains.
“Having a body for a funeral does not take away the full trauma experienced by families. It does, however, give families the peace of mind of knowing the final resting place of their loved one.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Supported the parole changes honouring Sian Kingi and Jack Beasley's families but criticised the bill as not going far enough, calling parts of it 'window dressing'.
“This bill needs to do more than the limited window-dressing to achieve an outcome that will reduce crime in this great state.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Defended the bill against opposition criticism of 'window-dressing', praising the no-body no-parole framework and knife crime provisions.
“For the statement of reservation to describe this bill as window-dressing is completely and utterly insulting to all of the people involved in that process.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
As a former police officer, supported the bill while calling for more police resources and endorsing 'Sian's Law' as a fitting tribute.
“I support my colleague the member for Ninderry in his call for the proposed new parole laws to be named 'Sian's Law'.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Did not oppose the bill but criticised the amendments as a 'disparate collection of measures' that do not focus on reducing crime and cover up parole system mismanagement.
“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.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Strongly supported the bill, particularly the knife crime provisions, and criticised the opposition's statement of reservation calling the bill 'window-dressing'.
“I emphasise to the young men in Logan to tell your mates, 'I live my life … without a knife' and you can too. It is not going to keep you or us safe.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Supported the sensible but overdue changes, particularly knife crime provisions, highlighting his work with the Beasley family following Jack Beasley's death.
“Laws are just one aspect of this. To achieve real change we need to educate people, particularly young people, about the consequences of using knives.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Opposed the bill as a 'Courier-Mail headline omnibus bill' that limits human rights, particularly criticising the restricted prisoner scheme and the extension of parole time frames to paper over government failures.
“This bill is effectively Labor's Courier-Mail headline omnibus bill. It is a collection of reforms that they have forced their poor drafters to cobble together based on media statements or to paper over their failures.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Supported the bill as good law reform, highlighting the parole framework changes and new offences for harming police dogs and horses.
“I am always happy to support good law reform. Laws should be modified and shaped over time to better reflect the social values that society feels are important.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Supported the bill, particularly the knife crime provisions and parole changes, while acknowledging the work of the Beasley family and calling for the parole reforms to be known as 'Sian's Law'.
“These amendments, once passed, ought to be referred to as 'Sian's Law' as a tribute to her. These new laws are the legacy of Sian and the Kingi family.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Supported the bill, focusing on the new indictable offences for harming police dogs, horses and corrective services dogs.
“These two new offences are about protecting our valuable police dogs and horses and corrective services dogs so they, in turn, can continue to protect our community.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Supported the parole amendments for murderers but raised concerns about the extension of time frames for the Parole Board, attributing it to government incompetence.
“This extension of time is so that the minister can stand and say that the Parole Board is meeting its time frames—which is something that it is failing to do now.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Supported knife crime provisions with exceptions for farmers, welcomed protections for police animals, but criticised parole time frame extensions as the government changing KPIs when they fail to meet them.
“It seems that whenever things get too tough, rather than embark on serious reform, rather than look at the end result and work backwards from that like a good administrator would do, they change the law or throw money at the problem.”— 2021-11-30View Hansard
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill is a package of law and order reforms covering knife crime, parole restrictions for the worst murderers, stronger 'No Body, No Parole' laws, protection for police animals, and updated child sex offender monitoring. It aims to improve public safety while reducing trauma for victims' families through the parole process.
Who it affects
Victims' families of multiple murderers or child killers gain protection from repeated parole notifications. People carrying knives in entertainment precincts face banning notices. Those who attack police dogs or horses face tougher penalties. People convicted of Commonwealth child sex offences will be added to Queensland monitoring schemes.
Knife crime and public safety
Police can now issue banning notices to adults caught with knives in licensed premises, safe night precincts, and public events where alcohol is sold. This extends existing powers used for alcohol-related violence to address knife crime in entertainment areas.
- Police can ban knife-carriers from entertainment precincts for up to one month
- Banning notices apply to licensed premises, safe night precincts, and public events with alcohol
- Applies in addition to existing criminal charges for unlawful knife possession
Parole restrictions for serious murderers
Creates a new framework for prisoners serving life sentences for multiple murders or the murder of a child. The Parole Board President can declare these prisoners cannot apply for parole for up to 10 years, sparing victims' families from regular parole notifications and hearings.
- Parole Board President can block parole applications for up to 10 years for multiple or child murderers
- Higher threshold for exceptional circumstances parole - prisoner must be dying or incapacitated
- Presumption against parole for these prisoners even when no declaration is in place
- Applies to existing prisoners, not just future offenders
No Body, No Parole strengthening
Strengthens existing laws that deny parole to killers who refuse to help locate their victims' remains. The Parole Board can now assess cooperation at any time after sentencing, not just when a prisoner applies for parole.
- Parole Board can consider cooperation immediately after sentencing, not just at parole application
- Prisoners issued 'no cooperation declarations' cannot reapply for parole without new cooperation
- Process for prisoners to seek reconsideration if they provide new information
Police and corrective services animal protection
Creates new indictable offences for wilfully killing or seriously injuring police dogs, police horses, or corrective services dogs. This follows incidents like police dog Kaos being stabbed in 2020, where existing offences were considered inadequate.
- New indictable offence with maximum 5 years imprisonment for killing or seriously injuring police/corrective services animals
- Applies when animal is being used in duties or in retaliation for such use
- Courts can order offenders to pay for treatment, rehabilitation, or replacement of animals
- Existing simple offences retained for lower-level incidents like kicking
Child sex offender monitoring
Updates Queensland's child protection schemes to include new Commonwealth grooming and child abuse material offences. People convicted of these offences will be added to the sex offender registry and disqualified from holding blue cards for working with children.
- Nine Commonwealth child sexual abuse offences added as reportable offences
- Five Commonwealth offences added as 'prescribed internet offences' allowing police to inspect digital devices
- Child grooming and abuse material offences become blue card disqualifying offences
- Aligns Queensland with other Australian states and ministerial council recommendations
Police operational improvements
Various changes to improve Queensland Police Service operations, including allowing civilian staff to monitor surveillance devices, enabling participation in national drug intelligence programs, and streamlining assumed identity processes for undercover work.
- Civilian monitors and translators can oversee surveillance devices without constant police supervision
- Queensland can share drug samples with federal programs for intelligence analysis
- Assumed identities can be used for training and administrative purposes, not just active investigations
- Protection of police methodologies in court extended to civilian QPS staff