Criminal Law Consolidation (Human Remains) Amendment Bill

Tuesday 27 September 2022

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (11:22): I rise today in support of this bill to introduce four new offences relating to concealing, mutilating or interfering with human remains and, in doing so, wish to thank the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services for his efforts to bring this bill to this place. I also wish to acknowledge the opposition, who have signalled their support for the successful passage of this important legislation, and I acknowledge members of the Homicide Victims Support Group here today.

Until the successful passage of this bill, there have been no specific offences in South Australia that prohibit a person from concealing or interfering with human remains. The Malinauskas Labor government is committed to changing this and delivering on another election promise in doing so. As representatives, putting those directly impacted by legislation, or the current lack of legislation, at the centre is paramount to our success as legislators.

We must put those with the expertise and those with the lived experience at the centre of every single decision we make. This bill does just that: it listens to the families who, already dealing with excruciating grief, are unable to properly say goodbye. It is an unimaginable pain. This bill ensures that offenders no longer benefit from hiding a body, which can significantly impact the criminal investigation process by destroying valuable forensic evidence.

One of the most important roles of government is the safety of the people we represent. That is why the Malinauskas Labor government is putting victims and justice at the heart of our response to crime. Treating victims of crime as simply just a witness is not good enough. Strong governments should be working to repair some of the damage that has been done. That is why we will be investing an additional $2 million to help victims as they go through court processes, provide better education about their rights and support their recovery from trauma.

Labor has a proven track record of improving community safety, providing support for victims and reforming our justice system. It was a Labor government that removed the statute of limitations on child sex offences, established our first child sex offender register and appointed the state's first Commissioner for Victims' Rights, and it will be a Labor government that criminalises the act of interfering with or concealing human remains.

The Criminal Law Consolidation (Human Remains) Amendment Bill 2022 introduces four new offences into the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935. The offences introduced by the bill are as follows:

• an offence of concealing, mutilating or otherwise interfering with human remains, where the intended or actual outcome is that the remains are more difficult to find, or to conceal the commission of an offence, with a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment;

• a more general offence of concealing, mutilating or otherwise interfering with human remains, with a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment;

• an offence if a person finds human remains, or what they suspect to be human remains, and fails to report this to the police, with a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment; and

• an offence of finding human remains and then acting to conceal those remains, again with a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.

These new offences will ensure that offenders who deliberately add to the pain and suffering of families by taking steps to conceal the body of their victim will be able to be charged with a specific offence, which will go some way to acknowledging the additional suffering of victims' families. Furthermore, an offender need not have been charged with murder to be prosecuted for these offences.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the incredible efforts of advocacy and justice that have seen this bill come to this place. We thank the Homicide Victims Support Group, the Commissioner for Victims' Rights and SA Police for their support of this bill. We thank the families of Daniel Hind and Allison Nitschke, who have been unwavering in their advocacy for reform in this area.

Concealing or mutilating human remains makes criminal prosecutions more difficult and can lead to charges being downgraded, in addition to the grief, suffering and uncertainty for the loved ones of victims. In 1973, Geoffrey Adams killed his wife, Colleen, at their home in Maitland on Yorke Peninsula. Colleen's remains were not discovered until 2018. With the significant passage of time, Geoffrey Adams managed to secure a manslaughter verdict rather than the possibility of murder.

I share the member for Gibson's reflection on this debate and just how distressing it is that legislation such as this needs to be introduced. Since the year 2000, there have been at least 28 cases where a body has been disposed. We have heard the stories both here and in the other place of the unfathomable pain and suffering felt by too many families.

This bill, to introduce new offences relating to concealing, mutilating or interfering with human remains, forms just part of the Malinauskas Labor government's steadfast commitment to supporting the victims of justice and placing their experiences at the heart of every decision we make. I commend the bill to the house.