Criminal Code Amendment (Firearms Trafficking) Bill 2015
Wednesday 6 January 2016 @ 10.20 a.m. | Crime
The Federal Government introduced the Criminal Code Amendment (Firearms Trafficking) Bill 2015 into Parliament in their final session for 2015. The Bill sets out to amend the Criminal Code 1995 not only to ensure those found guilty of trafficking illegal firearms receive a five-year minimum mandatory sentence, but that they can go to jail for up to twenty years.
The Bill
In his second reading speech introducing the Bill, Michael Keenan, Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Counter-Terrorism, states:
“The criminal misuse and trafficking of guns is a deadly crime and an ongoing threat to the safety of our communities. Although there is no single group which dominates the sale and supply of firearms to the illicit market, the illicit use and possession of firearms is a significant element of organised criminal activity in Australia…Now, more than ever, we must do everything in our power to ensure the ongoing safety and security of all Australians. That is why the government is again introducing increased penalties to disrupt the illicit firearms market in Australia.”
The Bill thus introduces a minimum sentence of five years to all traffickers of illegal firearms or firearm parts. The Bill targets all those who are involved in the illicit trade of firearms and not just those involved in the trade of large number of firearms or parts.
However, the minimum sentence does not include specified non-parole periods. The amendments do not impose a minimum non-parole period for offenders. The Bill also does not intend for the minimum sentence to be a guide to the non-parole period. The amendment also does not apply to minors under the age of eighteen. Consequently, the Bill preserves judicial discretion in weighing mitigating factors for non-parole periods in sentencing.
Keenan firmly believes that the setting of minimum sentences and increase of maximum sentences will send a strong message to the community that the illegal trafficking of firearms will not be tolerated.
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Sources:
Criminal Code Amendment (Firearms Trafficking) Bill 2015, explanatory memorandum and second reading speech as reproduced in TimeBase LawOne
