Communiqué Law, Crime and Community Safety Council 4 July 2014
CommuniquéLaw, Crimeand CommunitySafetyCouncil4July2014
Theinauguralmeeting oftheLaw,CrimeandCommunity SafetyCouncil(LCCSC) washeldon4July2014inMelbourne,Victoria.TheVictorianAttorney-General, the HonRobertClarkMPandMinisterforPoliceandEmergencyServices,theHon Kim WellsMP,chairedthemeeting.MinistersfromtheCommonwealth,eachstate andterritory andNewZealandwithportfolioresponsibilityforlaw andjustice, police andemergency managementwereinattendanceaswasarepresentativeofthe AustralianLocal GovernmentAssociation.
ThePrimeMinister, theHonTonyAbbottMP,gavetheopening address and highlighted the opportunity for the council, which brings law makers and law enforcers together,to progressreforms thatwillimprovecommunity safety andfight crime acrossAustraliaandNewZealand.
TheLCCSCwasestablishedby theCouncilofAustralianGovernments(COAG)to sharpenthenation’s focusonfightingcrime.Itreplacestwopreviouslyseparate councils – the Standing Council on Law and Justice (SCLJ) and the Standing Council onPoliceand Emergency Management(SCPEM).ItwillassistCOAGby developinganational and Trans-Tasman focusonfightingcrimeandpromotingbest practiceinlaw,criminal justiceandcommunitysafety.
Summary of decisions
Session 1: Law Reform
Uniform legal profession reform
Ministers:
a)notedthevalueofthecontinualdevelopmentofaseamlesslegalprofession across Australia,throughastateandterritory basedmodel
b)agreed thatnon-participating jurisdictions(Queensland, SouthAustralia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory & Australian Capital Territory)considerimplementing the uniformlaw developed by Victoriaand NewSouthWales.
c)notedthatQueensland,WesternAustralia,theNorthernTerritory,Tasmania andSouthAustraliawouldsupportthecontinual developmentofaseamless legalprofessionacrossAustraliathroughstateandterritory basedlegislation providedtheregulatory arrangementsareintheinterestsoftheirrespective publicandlegal professions asa whole.These jurisdictions will monitor developmentsin Victoria andNewSouthWales.
Legalassistancereforms
Ministers:
a)noted that the review of the National Partnership Agreement on Legal
AssistanceServiceshas beenfinalised
b)agreed to work together on future legal assistance arrangements to commencefrom 1July2015
c)provided in-principle support for the development of a national strategic frameworkforlegalassistanceservicesinconjunctionwiththedevelopment ofanew nationalpartnershipagreement,withadrafttobeprovidedfor agreementatthenext meeting.
Fines collection
TheLCCSCagreedtopursueimplementationofimprovedinformationsharingto collectunpaidfines.
Nationalresponsetomatch-fixing in sport
Ministers discussed the need forongoing andincreased vigilanceto address inappropriateandfraudulentsportsbetting andmatch-fixingactivitiestoprotectthe integrityofsportingevents.Ministersnotedthelegislativearrangementsineach StateandTerritorytorespondtomatch-fixingactivities.
Session 2:LawEnforcementand Crime
LCCSC arrangements
Ministersagreed toarrangements for the operation of the Law,Crime andCommunitySafetyCouncil.
LCCSC operating procedures
MinistersagreedtooperatingproceduresfortheLCCSCandtotheirpublicationon theLCCSC website.
Addressing theforeign fighter threat
The LCCSCreceivedareportfrom theDirector-GeneralofSecurityandnotedthat theparticipationbyAustralians injihadi activitiesinSyria andnorthern andwestern Iraq, andthepotentialreturn to Australia ofjihadist warfighters, poses asignificant andimmediatethreatto Australiandomesticsecurityandcommunitysafety.
Astrategicnational approach to seriousand organisedcrime
MinistersagreedthatCommonwealth,state andterritory agencieswillworktogether todevelopanew draftresponseplanwhichwillbeputtoministersforconsideration atalater LCCSCmeeting.
Electronicbankrecords
TheLCCSC expressedits concernregardingAustralianbanksnot providing electronicrecordstolaw enforcement agencieswhenlawfully requested and expects that Australian banks assist law enforcement in all Australian jurisdictions by providingelectronic records where warrants or other lawful access is permitted.
Frameworkfor anationalresponseto NewPsychoactive Substances
MinistersendorsedtheFrameworkforaNationalResponseforNew Psychoactive Substances,whichwasdeveloped by theIntergovernmentalCommittee onDrugs (IGCD)withinputfromhealth,lawenforcement andnon-government experts and whichprovidesaguideforabalancednationalresponsetonew psychoactive substances.
Responding to alcohol-fuelled violence
Ministers notedwithconcern the complexissues surrounding alcohol-fuelled violence,andagreedthat thestatesandterritoriesthroughtheIntergovernmental CommitteeonDrugs(IGCD)should progresswork onaStatementofPriorities for Alcohol.
Identity security: expansion oftheDocumentVerificationService(DVS)
commercialservice
Ministers endorsedtheexpansion ofDVS accessamongstgovernment andprivate sectororganisations in Australia and NewZealand that meetthe necessary requirementsofthe Privacy Act1988.
Ministers notedthat,asasecure onlinesystem forverifying informationonidentity documentsissuedbygovernment agencies,useoftheDVShelpsto:
a)improvethedetectionoffakeorstolenidentitydocuments,reducingboth identity fraudagainst governmentandbusinessesandidentity theft against individuals
b)reducetheregulatoryburdenonbusinessofclient-identificationobligations containedincertainCommonwealth,stateand territorylegislation
c)promotethegrowthofAustralia’sdigitaleconomythroughgreatertrustand confidence in the identities that citizens use to access online services and transactions
d)protect the privacy of citizens in comparison to many alternative identity verificationprocesses.
Session 3: Emergency Management
Bureau of Meteorologybriefing on upcoming fireseason–climate outlook
TheBureauofMeteorologypresentedabriefing ontheclimateoutlook,includingthe heightenedrisk ofanElNiñodeveloping in latewinter or spring.Ministers notedthat anElNiñomayincreasethepotentialofdryandwarmconditionsacrosseastern Australialeadingintoandduringthecomingsummer.
National strategyfor disasterresilience
Ministers:
a)affirmed their commitment to a national, integrated approach to building disasterresilienceandthedelivery ofsustainedbehaviouralchangeand enduring partnerships betweengovernments,communities, businessesand individuals;
b)noted achievements and current priorities in implementing the National StrategyforDisaster Resilience,includingintheareasofdisasterrisk assessment andcommunication,landuseplanning, disaster mitigationand recovery, and engagementwith theprivateandnot-for-profitsectors; and
c)taskedtheAustralia-NewZealandEmergencyManagementCommitteeto reviewtheimplementationoftheNationalStrategyforDisasterResilience withtheaimofrenewingthepractical focus andidentifyingnationalpriority actionsfor consideration byMinisters.
Revision of theNational EmergencyRiskAssessmentGuidelines
MinistersendorsedarevisedversionoftheNationalEmergencyRiskAssessment Guidelines,affirmingtheimportanceofriskinformedapproaches to buildingthe nation’sdisasterresilience. TheGuidelineswillsupporteffectiveandnationally consistentemergency riskassessmentapproaches,helpingtobuildmoreresilient communitiesand businesses by enabling accesstoconsistent disasterrisk informationacross jurisdictionalborders.
Nationalfiredanger ratings system
Ministers:
a)agreedthatthedevelopmentofanewNationalFireDangerRatingSystemis a nationalpriority, and
b)notedthatworktodeterminejurisdictional functional requirements, governancearrangements anda national projectplanis beingconsideredfor NationalEmergencyManagementProjectgrantfunding.
Emergencyalert upgrade andsystemreplacement
Ministersnotedthe delivery ofthenationaltelephone-basedwarningsystem, Emergency Alert,as avaluednationalwarningscapability and discussedfuture enhancementstothesystem’s operationandtechnology.