Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material
Offences) Act 2005
No. 92, 2005
An Act to amend the Criminal Code Act 1995, and for related purposes
Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences) Act 2005
No. 92, 2005
An Act to amend the Criminal Code Act 1995, and for related purposes
Assented to 6 July 2005
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material
Offences) Act 2005.
2 Commencement
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or
is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other
statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Commencement information
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Provision(s)
Commencement
Date/Details
1. Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table
The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.
6 July 2005
2. Schedule 1
On the day after the end of the period of 6 months beginning on the day on which
this Act receives the Royal Assent.
6 January 2006
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally passed
by the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded to deal with
provisions inserted in this Act after assent.
(2) Column 3 of the table contains additional information that is not part of
this Act. Information in this column may be added to or edited in any published
version of this Act.
3 Schedule(s)
Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as
set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in
a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Suicide related material offences
Criminal Code Act 1995
1 After section 474.29 of the Criminal Code
Insert:
474.29A Using a carriage service for suicide related material
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) uses a carriage service to access material; or
(ii) uses a carriage service to cause material to be transmitted to the person;
or
(iii) uses a carriage service to transmit material; or
(iv) uses a carriage service to make material available; or
(v) uses a carriage service to publish or otherwise distribute material; and
(b) the material directly or indirectly counsels or incites committing or
attempting to commit suicide; and
(c) the person:
(i) intends to use the material to counsel or incite committing or attempting to
commit suicide; or
(ii) intends that the material be used by another person to counsel or incite
committing or attempting to commit suicide.
Penalty: 1,000 penalty units.
(2) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) uses a carriage service to access material; or
(ii) uses a carriage service to cause material to be transmitted to the person;
or
(iii) uses a carriage service to transmit material; or
(iv) uses a carriage service to make material available; or
(v) uses a carriage service to publish or otherwise distribute material; and
(b) the material directly or indirectly:
(i) promotes a particular method of committing suicide; or
(ii) provides instruction on a particular method of committing suicide; and
(c) the person:
(i) intends to use the material to promote that method of committing suicide or
provide instruction on that method of committing suicide; or
(ii) intends that the material be used by another person to promote that method
of committing suicide or provide instruction on that method of committing
suicide; or
(iii) intends the material to be used by another person to commit suicide.
Penalty: 1,000 penalty units.
(3) To avoid doubt, a person is not guilty of an offence against subsection (1)
merely because the person uses a carriage service to:
(a) engage in public discussion or debate about euthanasia or suicide; or
(b) advocate reform of the law relating to euthanasia or suicide;
if the person does not:
(c) intend to use the material concerned to counsel or incite committing or
attempting to commit suicide; or
(d) intend that the material concerned be used by another person to counsel or
incite committing or attempting to commit suicide.
(4) To avoid doubt, a person is not guilty of an offence against subsection (2)
merely because the person uses a carriage service to:
(a) engage in public discussion or debate about euthanasia or suicide; or
(b) advocate reform of the law relating to euthanasia or suicide;
if the person does not:
(c) intend to use the material concerned to promote a method of committing
suicide or provide instruction on a method of committing suicide; or
(d) intend that the material concerned be used by another person to promote a
method of committing suicide or provide instruction on a method of committing
suicide; or
(e) intend the material concerned to be used by another person to commit
suicide.
474.29B Possessing, controlling, producing, supplying or obtaining suicide
related material for use through a carriage service
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) has possession or control of material; or
(ii) produces, supplies or obtains material; and
(b) the material directly or indirectly:
(i) counsels or incites committing or attempting to commit suicide; or
(ii) promotes a particular method of committing suicide; or
(iii) provides instruction on a particular method of committing suicide; and
(c) the person has that possession or control, or engages in that production,
supply or obtaining, with the intention that the material be used:
(i) by that person; or
(ii) by another person;
in committing an offence against section 474.29A (using a carriage service for
suicide related material).
Penalty: 1,000 penalty units.
(2) A person may be found guilty of an offence against subsection (1) even if
committing the offence against section 474.29A (using a carriage service for
suicide related material) is impossible.
(3) It is not an offence to attempt to commit an offence against subsection (1).
Minister’s second reading speech made in—
House of Representatives on 10 March 2005
Senate on 12 May 2005
(7/05)
474.29A Using a carriage service for suicide related material
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) uses a carriage service to access material; or
(ii) uses a carriage service to cause material to be transmitted to the person;
or
(iii) uses a carriage service to transmit material; or
(iv) uses a carriage service to make material available; or
(v) uses a carriage service to publish or otherwise distribute material; and
(b) the material directly or indirectly counsels or incites committing or
attempting to commit suicide; and
(c) the person:
(i) intends to use the material to counsel or incite committing or attempting to
commit suicide; or
(ii) intends that the material be used by another person to counsel or incite
committing or attempting to commit suicide.
Penalty: 1,000 penalty units.
(2) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) uses a carriage service to access material; or
(ii) uses a carriage service to cause material to be transmitted to the person;
or
(iii) uses a carriage service to transmit material; or
(iv) uses a carriage service to make material available; or
(v) uses a carriage service to publish or otherwise distribute material; and
(b) the material directly or indirectly:
(i) promotes a particular method of committing suicide; or
(ii) provides instruction on a particular method of committing suicide; and
(c) the person:
(i) intends to use the material to promote that method of committing suicide or
provide instruction on that method of committing suicide; or
(ii) intends that the material be used by another person to promote that method
of committing suicide or provide instruction on that method of committing
suicide; or
(iii) intends the material to be used by another person to commit suicide.
Penalty: 1,000 penalty units.
(3) To avoid doubt, a person is not guilty of an offence against subsection (1)
merely because the person uses a carriage service to:
(a) engage in public discussion or debate about euthanasia or suicide; or
(b) advocate reform of the law relating to euthanasia or suicide;
if the person does not:
(c) intend to use the material concerned to counsel or incite committing or
attempting to commit suicide; or
(d) intend that the material concerned be used by another person to counsel or
incite committing or attempting to commit suicide.
(4) To avoid doubt, a person is not guilty of an offence against subsection (2)
merely because the person uses a carriage service to:
(a) engage in public discussion or debate about euthanasia or suicide; or
(b) advocate reform of the law relating to euthanasia or suicide;
if the person does not:
(c) intend to use the material concerned to promote a method of committing
suicide or provide instruction on a method of committing suicide; or
(d) intend that the material concerned be used by another person to promote a
method of committing suicide or provide instruction on a method of committing
suicide; or
(e) intend the material concerned to be used by another person to commit
suicide.
474.29B Possessing, controlling, producing, supplying or obtaining suicide
related material for use through a carriage service
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) has possession or control of material; or
(ii) produces, supplies or obtains material; and
(b) the material directly or indirectly:
(i) counsels or incites committing or attempting to commit suicide; or
(ii) promotes a particular method of committing suicide; or
(iii) provides instruction on a particular method of committing suicide; and
(c) the person has that possession or control, or engages in that production,
supply or obtaining, with the intention that the material be
used:
(i) by that person; or
(ii) by another person;
in committing an offence against section 474.29A (using a carriage service for
suicide related material).
Penalty: 1,000 penalty units.
(2) A person may be found guilty of an offence against subsection (1) even if
committing the offence against section 474.29A (using a carriage service for
suicide related material) is impossible.
(3) It is not an offence to attempt to commit an offence against subsection (1).
Minister’s second reading speech made in—
House of Representatives on 10 March 2005
Senate on 12 May 2005
Explanatory notes to proposed new anti VE Legislation
CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT (SUICIDE RELATED MATERIAL OFFENCES) BILL 2005
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs,
Senator the Honourable Chris Ellison)
Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences) Bill 2004/2005
General Outline
The Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences) Bill 2005 will
insert new offences into the Criminal Code dealing with use of a carriage
service to access, transmit or otherwise make available suicide related
material, and possession, production, supplying or obtaining suicide related
material for use through a carriage service (suicide related material
offences).
The measures in this Bill complement the measures in the Crimes Legislation
Amendment (Telecommunications Offences
and Other Measures) Bill (no. 2) 2004. That Bill will repeal the
telecommunications offences in the Crimes Act 1914 and
replace them with new and updated telecommunications offences in the Criminal
Code. Updating and moving existing Crimes Act offences into the Criminal Code
is a part of the process of placing all the Commonwealth’s serious offences in
the Code.
Since the enactment of the existing telecommunications offences in 1989, the
telecommunications environment has changed substantially, both in terms of the
regulatory environment and the technology available. The offences account for
this change and better reflect the community’s increased dependence on
telecommunications and the harm that can be done by misuse or disruption.
Schedule 1 – suicide related material offences
This schedule will insert two suicide related material offences into the
Criminal Code: proposed sections 474.29A and
474.29B. Proposed section 474.29A Using a carriage service for suicide related
material
Proposed subsection 474.29A(1) will make it an offence for a person to use a
carriage service to access, transmit to themself, transmit generally, make
available, or publish or otherwise distribute material that directly or
indirectly counsels or incites suicide, with the intention that they, or
another person, will use the material to counsel or incite suicide. ‘Access’
is intended to be defined in proposed section 473.1 of the Crimes Legislation
Amendment (Telecommunications Offences and Other
Measures) Bill (no.2) 2004 which is likely to be enacted earlier than this
Bill. ‘Access’ is defined in that section to include the display of material
by a computer or any other output of the material from a computer, the copying
or moving of the material to any place in a computer or to a data storage
device and the execution of a program (where the material is a program).
Proposed subsection 474.29A(2) will make it an offence for a person to use a
carriage service to access, transmit to themself, transmit generally, make
available, or publish or otherwise distribute material that directly or
indirectly promotes, or provides instruction on, a particular method of
committing suicide, with the intention that they, or another person, will use
the material to promote or provide instruction on that method of committing
suicide. Proposed subsection 474.29A(2) will also make it an offence to engage
in the conduct, listed above, with the intention that the material be used by
another person to commit suicide.
The proposed offences are intended to complement amendments to the Customs
(Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (subregulation 3AA(2)) and the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1958 (subregulation
13GA(2)) prohibiting the physical importation and exportation of documents that promote the use of a
device designed or customised to be used by a person to commit suicide
(suicide kit), counsel or incite a person to commit suicide using a suicide
kit, or instruct a person how to commit suicide using a suicide kit.
The maximum penalties for the proposed offences are 1000 penalty units, which
is $110,000 under the existing $110 value for a penalty unit in section 4AA of
the Crimes Act. The maximum fine will be $550,000 for a body corporate under
the provisions for calculating maximum fines in section 4B of that Act. These
penalties are the same as the maximum penalty that applies to the illegal
importation or exportation of documents related to suicide kits (see sections
233 and 233AB of the Customs Act 1901).
The proposed offences are particularly aimed at use of the Internet, email and
other online applications and are intended to cover the range of activities
that a person can engage in when using these. The types of activities covered
by the conduct listed in paragraphs 474.29A(1)(a) and (2)(a) include, amongst
others, viewing; copying; downloading; making available for viewing, copying
or downloading; sending and exchanging.
The conduct listed in paragraphs 474.29A(1)(a) and (2)(a) must be accompanied
by an intention that, respectively: the relevant material be used, by the person who engages in the offending
conduct or another person, to counsel or incite suicide (in the case of
subsection 474.29A(1)), or the relevant material be used by the person
engaging in the offending conduct or another person, to promote a method of
committing suicide or provide instruction on a method of committing suicide,
or that another person use the material to actually commit suicide (in the
case of subsection 474.29A(2)).
As the offences in proposed subsections 474.29A(1) and (2) require the
intention that the relevant material be used in a particular way for the
offence to be proven, no special defences for the proposed offences are
necessary. (Of course, the general defences in Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code
will apply.) This is because no-one should have a defence available to them if
they intend, in engaging in particular conduct, to, for example, incite a
person to commit suicide.
Under paragraphs 474.29A(1)(b) and (2)(b), the relevant material must in fact
be, respectively:
material that directly or indirectly counsels or incites suicide (in the case
of subsection 474.29A(1)), or material that directly or indirectly promotes, or provides instruction on, a
particular method of committing suicide (in the case of subsection
474.29A(2)).
These constitute physical elements of the respective offences that are
circumstances. By application of the default fault elements in section 5.6 of
the Criminal Code, the fault element of recklessness will apply to them.
‘Recklessness’ as it applies to a circumstance is defined in section 5.4 of
the Criminal Code.
These offences are not intended to capture Internet material that advocates or
debates law reform on euthanasia and/or suicide related issues. Accordingly,
proposed subsections 474.29A(3) and (4) have been inserted to make it clear
that the offences in subsections 474.29A(1) and 474.29A(2) only apply where
the person intends to use the material concerned to counsel or incite suicide,
or to promote or provide instruction on a method of committing suicide. A
person is not guilty of these offences merely because the person uses a
carriage service to engage in public discussion or debate about, or advocates
reform of the law relating to, euthanasia or suicide.
Proposed section 474.29B Possessing, producing, supplying or obtaining suicide
related material for use through a carriage service Proposed subsection
474.29B(1) will make it an offence for a person to possess or control suicide
related material (as covered by proposed section 474.29A), or produce, supply
or obtain suicide related material with the intention that it be used, by that
person or another person, in committing an offence against proposed section
474.29A (a primary offence). A specific preparatory offence is necessary,
because this conduct would not always be caught by the extension of criminal
liability in Division 11 of Part 2.4 of the Criminal Code. The proposed
offence will carry the same maximum penalty as the primary offences of 1000
penalty units, which is $110,000 under the existing $110 value for a penalty
unit in section 4AA of the Crimes Act. The maximum fine will be $550,000 for a
body corporate under the provisions for calculating maximum fines in section
4B of that Act.
The proposed offence covers a broad range of preparatory conduct undertaken
with the intention to commit a primary offence. As an example, the offence
would apply to the possession or production of paper leaflets providing
instruction on a particular method of suicide, provided the person engaging in
this conduct intended that the information on the leaflets also be made
available on the Internet for the purpose that it be used by another person to
commit suicide. Proposed sections 473.2 and 473.3 in the Crimes Legislation
Amendment (Telecommunications Offences and Other Measures) Bill (no.2) 2004
are intended to outline situations that are considered ‘possession or control
of material in the form of data’ or ‘producing, supplying or obtaining
material in the form of data’ for the purposes of this proposed offence.
Subsection 474.29B(2) provides that a person can be found guilty of an offence
against subsection 474.29B(1), even if it is impossible to commit a primary
offence. This provision reflects the emergent common law consensus that a
person can be convicted of attempt – here, essentially a preparatory offence –
even though completion of the offence was impossible in the circumstances. In
other words, the law of attempt holds that it is irrelevant if a particular
result does not occur. Subsection 474.29B provides that it is not an offence
to attempt to commit an offence against subsection 474.29B. Subsections
474.29B(2) and (3) of the proposed offence are drawn from the offence of
attempt under section 11.1 of the Criminal Code. Given proposed section
474.29B’s preparatory nature in relation to the primary offence, it is
appropriate that it contain such provisions.
Bill:
http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/Repository/Legis/ems/Linked/10030502.pdf
Due to be tabled in May 2005 and
debated in Parliament by July 2005, the Bill is not going to help the terminally
ill and people in similar situations. I have contacted all 76
Senators by email, with a different message to each of them. In the main,
I am appalled to think that the same rules apply to me as an advocate for a good
death, as already applies to the "terrorist". I believe it is an
invasion of my privacy for the Government to have access to my telephone
conversations, my website, my emails, my books, my very freedom of having a
conversation with another person which involves the subject of suicide.
We are not raving lunatics, in this field of communication, inciting
people to kill themselves, but rationalizing options, when very few remain.
If the Bill specifically targets organisations like Exit, the Voluntary
Euthanasia Societies and Likeminded Websites from around the world, people will
just resort to more horrendous ways of ending their life. As I have said
elsewhere, Desperate people will do desperate things. I have
appealed to the Senators to show compassion towards the frail, elderly and
terminally ill to leave discreet suicides, remain discreet. With an
aging population kept alive with modern technology long after life has ceased to
have meaning, this Bill will compound the Governments inability to fund those of
us who would rather be dead, dead! than living dead. A good death is not the
worst thing that can happen to you. This Bill is setting the ground
rules for our loss of free speech within the privacy of four walls. Even
if you personally don't agree with euthanasia, this bill sets the tone for
future rules "to protect one part of the community from another" The Bill
seeks to protect "the young", but at the expense "the old", in what is
fundamentally a social issue, not a criminal offence. Please lobby all the
Federal Senators now, to ensure our voice in heard now. While you still
can have a voice, use it.
Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences) Bill 2004
| Introduced: | August 12, 2004 |
| Reference to Committee: | LCL August 5, 2004 |
| Stage Reached in Senate: | Adjourned because of Election October 9, 2004 |
474.30 Using a carriage service for suicide related material
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) uses a carriage service to access material; or
(ii) uses a carriage service to cause material to be transmitted to the person; or
(iii) uses a carriage service to transmit material; or
(iv) uses a carriage service to make material available; or
(v) uses a carriage service to publish or otherwise distribute material; and
(b) the material directly or indirectly counsels or incites suicide; and
(c) the person:
(i) intends to use the material to counsel or incite suicide; or
(ii) intends that the material be used by another person to counsel or incite suicide.
Penalty: 1,000 penalty units.
(2) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) uses a carriage service to access material; or
(ii) uses a carriage service to cause material to be transmitted to the person; or
(iii) uses a carriage service to transmit material; or
(iv) uses a carriage service to make material available; or
(v) uses a carriage service to publish or otherwise distribute material; and
(b) the material directly or indirectly:
(i) promotes a particular method of committing suicide; or
(ii) provides instruction on a particular method of committing suicide; and
(c) the person:
(i) intends to use the material to promote that method of committing suicide or provide instruction on that method of committing suicide; or
(ii) intends that the material be used by another person to promote that method of committing suicide or provide instruction on that method of committing suicide; or
(iii) intends the material to be used by another person to commit suicide.
Penalty: 1,000 penalty units.
474.31 Possessing, controlling, producing, supplying or obtaining suicide related material for use through a carriage service
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person:
(i) has possession or control of material; or
(ii) produces, supplies or obtains material; and
(b) the material directly or indirectly:
(i) counsels or incites suicide; or
(ii) promotes a particular method of committing suicide; or
(iii) provides instruction on a particular method of committing suicide; and
(c) the person has that possession or control, or engages in that production, supply or obtaining, with the intention that the material be used:
(i) by that person; or
(ii) by another person;
in committing an offence against section 474.30 (using a carriage service for suicide related material).
Penalty: 1,000 penalty units.
(2) A person may be found guilty of an offence against subsection (1) even if committing the offence against section 474.30 (using a carriage service for suicide promotion material) is impossible.
(3) It is not an offence to attempt to commit an offence against Sub Section 1
___________________________________
A Letter Published in today Sun Newspaper
Ill-thought-out suicide law censors a generation
January 2, 2006
I am 73 and have breast cancer that has now spread to other parts of my body. I
am a long-standing member of various voluntary euthanasia groups including Exit
International, Philip Nitschke's group.
I have been following the letters on the internet censorship bill that comes
into effect on January 6. This bill effectively prevents people from using a
"carriage service" - the phone, email, fax or internet - to talk about
end-of-life options.
This legislation is set to affect me in a very direct way. Soon I will not be
able to use the telephone to talk to my doctors about my illness and what it
means for me; I cannot talk about doses of medication (in case this is construed
as inciting me to take matters into my own hands, something I admit I'm quite
keen on, given what lies ahead through this wretched cancer); I cannot talk to
Dr Nitschke, who has been most frank and honest in answering my questions about
how I might end my life while I still have my dignity. Without the phone and
e-mail, my life lines, I am lost.
In my 70-odd years I have discovered the implications of feminism and seen the
rise and fall of the Communist Party. But I have never seen the type of
censorship and restriction that is now being placed upon ordinary Australians
wanting access to ordinary information.
Those who made this law - the Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material
Offences) Act 2005 - say teenagers need to be protected from suicide; they say
the present suicide rate is disturbing, and they are right. But why should the
elderly and terminally ill be the victims of the Government's zeal?
This ill-thought-out law is a censoring of an entire generation's right to
assembly, our right to free speech and our right to access information about our
end-of-life choices.
So, on January 6, I plan to email as many politicians as I can. I want to use a
carriage service to discuss my end-of-life options with as many MPs as possible,
and I encourage my generation to do the same.
The Government says that it cares for its elderly and that it has nothing but
respect for its senior citizens. Driving discussion of end-of-life issues under
the carpet makes its talk cheap and its promises shallow.
Caren Jenning Woollahra
_________________________
Wednesday, January 25: 2006
Delivered-To:
Subject: RE: your email regarding the criminal code Amendment (suicide Related
Material Offences) Act 2005
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 12:18:49 +1100
From: "Ludwig, Joe \(Senator\)" <Senator.Ludwig@aph.gov.au>
To: "Ms R"
Dear Ms R
Thank you for your emailed message of 5th January 2006 regarding the Criminal
Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences) Act 2005.
Suicide is a major problem in Australia. Over 2,300 people killed themselves in
2003, the latest year for which statistics are available. Sadly, young people,
particularly young men, are especially prone to suicide. I believe this is a
national tragedy.
That's why my Labor colleagues and I supported the recent Criminal Code
Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences) Bill, which passed the Parliament
on 23 June 2005.
Importantly, the new laws contain additional safeguards so both pro- and
anti-euthanasia advocates can engage in legitimate political debate.
Labor supports the new laws on suicide-related material because while they
protect the young and those with mental illness, they also protect the right of
adults to access information and debate euthanasia and other suicide-related
issues.
For your information my second reading speech on this legislation which I hope
will clarify Labor's position on this issue for you.
While I respectfully disagree with your analogy between the work of Sister Kenny
and Dr Nitschke, on the subject of Advanced Health Directives, I agree with you
and strongly support the Beattie Government initiative. Whether other states
adopt this measure is a matter for the state and territory governments
themselves.
Thanks again for your message.
Kind Regards
Senator Joe Ludwig.
CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT (SUICIDE RELATED MATERIAL OFFENCES) BILL 2005
Second Reading Speech
Senator LUDWIG (Queensland) (8.21 p.m.) I am pleased to inform the Senate that
Labor supports the Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences)
Bill 2005. This bill is derived from the earlier Crimes Legislation Amendment
(Telecommunications Offences and Other Measures) Bill 2004, and it should not be
confused with the telecommunications bill we have on this evening either. The
bill was subsequently split into two to ensure that it could be proceeded with
in parts. This, the second part, has been dealt with by a committee and is
before us this evening. The part of the bill that relates to suicide was made
into a separate bill, which is now called the Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide
Related Material Offences) Bill 2005. The remainder the Crimes Legislation
Amendment (Telecommunications Offences and Other Measures) Bill (No. 2) 2004,
which I will call the No. 2 bill has already passed through parliament and is
now being dealt with.
Labor was pleased to be able to assist in the passage of those measures that
remained in the No. 2 bill, now the act, including the regulation of the
internet for protection of children and the prevention of racial vilification.
That left the anti-suicide measures of the Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide
Related Material Offences) Bill 2004. This bill passed in the House with Labor
support, and Labor referred it to the Senate Legal and Constitutional
Legislation Committee. The committee had called for submissions and commenced
its inquiries into the bill by the time the 2004 federal election was called. As
a result of the prorogation of parliament, the bill lapsed before the Senate
committee could complete its inquiry. Now, some time later, we are here in a new
parliament. A new bill was called for and the government has presented a 2005
version.
The new bill is essentially the same as the 2004 bill, with the exception of new
and additional safeguards. The new bill specifically states that a person is not
guilty of an offence against the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) if the
person merely uses a carriage service, for example a telephone or the internet,
to engage in public discussion of or debate about euthanasia.
Further, the new subsections (3) and (4) explicitly state that a person is not
guilty of the offences under subsections (1) and (2) if the person did not
intend the material concerned to be used by another person, to promote a method
of committing suicide or to provide instruction on a method of committing
suicide.
The new protections available under subsections (3) and (4) are welcome
additions to the bill. They protect the freedom of political communication. I
welcome the inclusion of these safeguards, as I foreshadowed a need for them
previously in my speech on the 2004 bill. Mr George Williams of the ANU made a
suggestion along the lines of these safeguards in his 2004 submission on the
previous bill, and it has obviously been picked up by the government and put
into this bill.
Labor indicated it would move amendments to the 2004 version of bill in the
Senate to achieve this aim, and I welcome the government s adoption of Labor s
position on this matter. I said previously that we had to be sure that the
offence does not apply to the extent that it would infringe the implied
constitutional freedom of political communication. I will quote Labor s
unchanged position on this issue. My colleague in the lower house, Mr Robert
McClelland, said in a 2004 speech:
We consider that the advocacy of reform of the law relating to euthanasia falls
squarely within the implied freedom of political communication under its most
recent formulation by the High Court in its decision in David Russell Lange v.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1997.
Since that time additional protections to achieve this end have been
incorporated, and Labor welcomes them. The rest of the 2005 bill is unchanged
from the 2004 bill. This bill still contains offences that carry maximum
penalties of fines of up to $10,000 for an individual and up to $550,000 for a
corporation. These are important and strong measures, and Labor supports them.
The fact is that there are too many suicides in our community. In 2003, the last
year for which I can find statistics, there were over 2,300 suicides in
Australia. These statistics make sad reading, and they have been covered in this
place by members of all parties numerous times before.
We all know that young males are extremely prone to suicide and young females
are extremely prone to suicide attempts. In every community, from our cities to
rural and regional Australia, many have felt the unfortunate touch of needless
death caused by suicide. Suicide is not just a problem among the young; it is
distributed across every age group. However, I want to address some of the myths
about suicide that are being raised in the broader community debate on this
particular bill.
Firstly, there has been the suggestion that this bill is aimed at older
Australians. Let me comprehensively reject that suggestion and appeal to the
actual facts of the case. The statistics point to the fact that young people are
more at risk. From 1992 to 2003, the zero-to-29 age group made up more than 28
per cent of all suicides. In comparison, the 65-and-over age group made up under
half of the number, or about 13 per cent of suicides. For the benefit of the
chamber I will reference this material: it comes from the ABS publication
Suicides: recent trends, Australia.
Here is another fact: internet use is highest among people of 15 to 19 years of
age, about 63.3 per cent. In comparison, the next highest rates of usage are
55.9 per cent for 20- to 24-year olds and 55.7 per cent for 10- to 14 year-olds.
Following that, the 25- to 34-year-olds age bracket is at 51.3 per cent, and no
other age bracket breaks 50 per cent. In fact, internet use declines rapidly
after 34 years of age. The disproportionately high users of the internet are the
15- to 19-year-olds. The disproportionately lower users of the internet are
older Australians, at 65 to 74 years of age and 9.1 per cent, and the over-75s
are only at three per cent. These are not statistics that I pulled from the
ether. I will again reference my remarks: these statistics are available from
another ABS publication, Australia online: how Australians are using computers
and the internet. I found the above figures through my own research of the ABS
figures.
In developing the response to the bill on behalf of Labor, we next took a look
at what the authoritative work of the Australian Institute for Suicide Research
and Prevention says on this particular topic. The synopsis of the research in
the 2001 report Ageing and suicide is clear and concise. It says:
In general, it can be seen that adult and elderly suicide rates in the states of
Australia have declined, though in an erratic way, since 1964. Conversely, there
is a trend of increasing suicide rates for youth.
I will now turn my attention to the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy.
On page 9 of that document, it clearly states:
Reducing access to a particular lethal means of suicide can give young people
the chance to reconsider their decision to die, and provide time and opportunity
for help to be provided.
Let us dispel for once and for all this myth that this bill is somehow targeted
at older Australians and summarise what the statistics and policy research on
this bill actually demonstrate. The high-risk age group for suicide is not older
Australians but instead younger Australians under the age of 29. This just
happens to be the same age group with the highest rate of internet usage.
Further, the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy would seem to advocate
against the free incitement to suicide in concordance with the aims of this
bill.
I will deal with one further claim which I now believe has been disproved: the
bill was unnecessary because internet usage has increased and the suicide rate
has fallen. This is an abstraction. By logic, if everyone had access to the
internet then suicide would stop. We know that that is in fact not the case.
Suicide is such a tragedy that Labor will always be prepared to examine a
reasonable measure that the government is able to progress and it will be
determined to put forward its view.
But, as with any legislation, these measures must be examined carefully and
considered for unintended consequences. For this reason, Labor voted for the
bill to be steered through the committee process in the Senate. As I mentioned
previously, the last Senate inquiry into the bill s measures was not completed
before the recent election. The Senate committee took 32 written submissions and
conducted a public hearing in Canberra on the bill. Representations were made by
organisations that you could say were pro life, although they might name
themselves in other ways; others that were pro euthanasia, who also might name
themselves in other ways; and a number who were in the centre in the debate.
Rather than going into particular detail, in summary I will say that we know
that this bill will not, as various submissions pointed out, stop the phenomenon
of suicide. That is not the aim of this bill, and it is doubtful whether any
legislation could in fact achieve that end. However, as members of the
Australian Labor Party, we strongly believe in our duty as parliamentarians to
defend those who cannot, for whatever reason, defend themselves. This bill will
ensure that young people, those suffering from depression and other mental
illnesses and those with disabilities have access to the best protection we can
reasonably provide.
I think it is important to reiterate that those who want to access and
distribute information for research or advocacy are not caught in the provisions
in this bill. The freedom of political communication that Australians now enjoy
will remain unchanged. I therefore commend this bill to the Senate.
Debate (on motion by Senator Vanstone) adjourned.
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Thursday, 5 January 2006 6:26 PM
To: Ludwig, Joe (Senator)
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