29 Nov 2017
Criminal Law Consolidation (Defences—Domestic Abuse Context) Amendment Bill
Adjourned debate on second reading.
(Continued from 18 October 2017.)
The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN (22:17): I rise to speak to the Criminal Law Consolidation (Defences—Domestic Abuse Context) Amendment Bill. This bill was introduced by the Hon. Mark Parnell on 18 October and proposes amendments to the Criminal Law Consolidation Act. In essence, it seeks to implement a number of recommendations contained in the recently released South Australian Law Reform Institute’s report on the operation of provocation defences in South Australia in domestic violence situations. It is our understanding that this report represents part one of the institute’s consideration of the law on provocation, and that we can expect a further report dealing with expanded self-defence criteria to be released next year.
The Liberal Party traditionally supports the second reading vote and for a bill to go into committee, and we will be supporting the second reading this evening. In relation to the law of provocation, the Liberal Party acknowledges that this is an area where there needs to be considerable reform. It is looking forward to the second report of the South Australian Law Reform Institute. It believes that, when considering reform, both sections of the institute’s report will be required because it is an integral area of law which not only deals with provocation but also with self-defence and, importantly, as we have debated many times tonight, mandatory minimum sentencing requirements for certain convictions. I indicate that the Liberal Party will support the second reading.
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