Letter – Crimes Legislation Amendment (Law Enforcement Integrity, Vulnerable Witness Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2013
ALHR has criticised the Parliamentary process which allowed only 40 hours for submissions.
ALHR noted the time period destroys any notion of accountability and public scrutiny which is sought to be provided by public involvement in the committee process.
ALHR noted the bill contains various provisions supporting victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings, and strengthening offences under the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism legislative framework.
There are matters in this Bill which ALHR would likely support where they improve the consistency of Australia’s law with human rights standards. This includes the amendments to remove wrist x-ray as a prescribed age determination procedure.
However because of the time period the Parliament has chosen to allocate for submissions, ALHR are unable to assess and respond on these matters.