Criminal Law Consolidation (Human Remains) Amendment Bill – Second Reading speech

Thursday 8 September 2022 

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (17:20): Today, I rise in support of the government's Criminal Law Consolidation (Human Remains) Amendment Bill 2022. This bill is important as it criminalises the act of interfering with or concealing human remains. Human remains can play an important role in a criminal investigation. 

There were 261 homicide incidents in Australia between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, with 278 victims and 314 identified offenders. This is the highest number of homicide incidents in 15 years, according to the National Homicide Monitoring Program. I think members would agree this is a concerning statistic, and we need to do all we can as a community to watch for activities that concern us as citizens and report them to relevant authorities. 

Since 2000, there have been at least 28 homicides in South Australia where the body has been disposed of. I am unable to comprehend the devastation that would be felt by losing a loved one through murder. I cannot imagine the anger or selfishness required to take the life of a fellow human. Anyone would struggle if their friend or family member goes missing for a day, a week or months, but to know that someone you care about has been taken from you and you never see them again must be unimaginable. 

That a person can take a life and then hide the body or, even worse, that your loved one's remains have been spoiled beyond recognition, to have to await the outcome of forensic testing to find out if it is your loved one who has been found, is beyond tragic. This heartache is something that we as legislators have the power to mitigate to support the families and friends of victims whose bodies have been hidden or mutilated. It is our responsibility to give our police and scientists every avenue to seek some solace for family members. 

The changes to the Criminal Law Consolidation Act that are proposed by this bill will mean offenders no longer benefit from hiding a body, which can significantly impact the criminal investigation process by destroying valuable forensic evidence, evidence that may have been used to strengthen the case against an accused person in court. This bill creates 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. 

Where the offence is committed by the person who caused the death of the victim, the penalty for this offence will be served cumulatively on top of any other sentence the offender has received for causing the death of the victim. The only exception will be where they have already received a sentence of life imprisonment. 

However, under the changes that this government is committed to making in this bill, an offender does not need to have been the killer or accused killer of the deceased for them to be prosecuted for interfering with or concealing human remains. Sadly, there are people who will assist those who kill others to conceal the remains or mutilate them, either with the offender or, once the homicide has been committed, to protect the offender. That is why this bill introduces a more general offence of concealing, mutilating or otherwise interfering with human remains, with a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment. 

If someone finds human remains, or what they suspect to be human remains, and fails to report this to police, they will have committed an offence with a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. This bill also creates an offence of, once finding human remains, acting to conceal those remains, with a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. 

It is distressing that legislation such as this needs to be introduced, but unfortunately on many occasions we see cases on the news where the actions being criminalised in this bill have occurred where people deny loved ones the chance to say goodbye. Losing a loved one to murder or manslaughter must be extremely traumatic. When the remains of a loved one cannot be found or are not found for some time, it prolongs the grief, suffering and uncertainty for the loved ones of victims. 

The members in the other place who have already spoken on this bill have outlined the devastating firsthand accounts of the pain felt by the families of victims when the remains of their loved ones are not able to be located. The families of Daniel Hind and Allison Nitschke have been advocates for reform in this area. These families are not able to say goodbye in the same way many of us who have experienced loss are able to say goodbye. These families often experience additional and unnecessary trauma while waiting for the body of their loved one to be located and identified. 

Labor is committed to changing this and delivering on another election commitment—listening to the families of victims who are unable to properly say goodbye. In the recent state budget, this government delivered on our commitment to increase funding to victim support services. The Malinauskas Labor government will provide $500,000 per year from 2022-23, a total of $2 million in additional funding to improve support services for victims of crime. The Victim Support Service embraces diversity and eliminates all forms of discrimination in the provision of their services. It welcomes all people irrespective of culture, faith, sexual orientation and gender identity. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to recognise the work of the Homicide Victims' Support Group. This support group assists those who have suffered the loss of a family member or friend through homicide. It joins people together to share and support one another through the unique challenges faced by those who have lost a loved one in this way. This is important as only those who have suffered this terrible loss can understand truly the feelings and needs of people whose loved ones' lives have been prematurely ended by another. 

I am unable to comprehend the devastation that would be felt by losing a loved one in this way and my thoughts are with all the families that have experienced this. It is my hope that this bill assists those affected by a crime like this, that the bill leads to increased reporting of found human remains and that our hardworking investigators are assisted in their pursuit of the truth in homicide cases. I commend this bill to the house.