Chris Macklin: Law Society Criminal Law Committee convenor on the Government's 'intrusive' updated gang patch bill

The Law Society says pumping up the proposed gang patch bill gives police intrusive search powers.

Cabinet has agreed to add a clause to the bill banning patches in public to ban them in the homes of members repeatedly defying the public ban.

It was added in August, after the bill had gone through the Select Committee process, even though Ministers were briefed on options in March.

The Society's Chris Macklin says this change shouldn't have been added without some scrutiny.

"The reaching into homes is a pretty big concern - and it's exactly for that reason you'd expect that it would have been consulted on rather than put into a late amendment."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Altogether do to see Ellen.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Now the government's coppying it over a late change they
made to the gang patch ban. The change will make
it illegal for gang members who repeatedly break the rules
around the patch ban from even having these patches in
their homes. Chris Macklin is the convener of the Law
Society's Criminal Law Committee and with us. Now, Hey, Chris Kelder,
how are you henn Well? Thank you mate? Primarily, what's
your problem? Is it the late change without consultation or

(00:23):
is it the change itself.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Look, what we wanted to alert people to was the
late change. But the lateness is of particular concern because
it's substantive, creates a new offense and gives some quite
in truth of search powers. It's the fit of thing
you'd normally expect consultation to be undertaken on.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Okay, So it's a bit of both. Okay. So on
the change itself, I mean, I have concerns like you
do about going into people's homes and you have to
have a pretty high threshold for that. But is it
not a case of just going to essentially seize the
patches when somebody is repeatedly breaking the law?

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Look, I have to accept that that would, don't know
that be the intense to the draft of But this
is precisely why you need the attention that usually comes
with consultation, because on its face, it's just a search power.
And look, if somebody really is out to defy the
patch band and wants to hold on to there and
thinking here, no matter what, then that search is going
to have to be more than just look at what's

(01:22):
on the wall kind of thing. And no one seems
to have paid attention to that. So they're reaching into
homes as a pretty big concern. And it's exactly for
that reason you'd expect that it would have been consulted
on rather than put it in a last sort of
late amendments.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
And what would you like the government to do now,
given that they have done this without consultation.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Well, the Law Society has written an open letter, which
no doubt you've seen, just requesting the amendment be withdrawn.
And so I guess that's the first thing. And if
they can't do that, then it's back to the legislation
or back to Select Committee for consultation on it. And
as a final point, the Law Society said, look, if
you're going to do. If you're not going to do
any of those things, then take out the search power

(02:03):
and have us think about the timing that you've currently
got in there, because I'm not going to try and
get my head around I've just got off a late flight, unfortunately.
But my recollection is there's a technical issue with the
way that the repeater sending is described as dating from
conviction as opposed to from the hearing itself. And that's
kind of a lovely lawyer's point, but it's not like

(02:25):
it's going to move the needle very much. But it's
the sort of thing you dine out before you enacted
legislation normally, so that it all works as intended.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah, hey, Chris, thank you. Always appreciate your time. That's
Chris Macklin of the Law Society.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
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