Legislative Council
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2970 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Wednesday 12 June 2002 ______ The President (The Hon. Dr Meredith Burgmann) took the chair at 11.00 a.m. The President offered the Prayers. PETITIONS Branch Line Above Rail Community Service Obligation Petition asking that above rail community service obligations on branch lines be reinstated until branch line infrastructure is upgraded to a standard to ensure competitiveness with main lines, received from the Hon. Rick Colless. POLICE POWERS (DRUG DETECTION DOGS) ACT: DISALLOWANCE OF POLICE POWERS (DRUG DETECTION DOGS) REGULATION 2002 The PRESIDENT: Pursuant to sessional orders the question is: That the motion proceed forthwith. Precedence agreed to. Ms LEE RHIANNON [11.08 a.m.]: I move: That under section 41 (1) of the Interpretation Act 1987, this House disallows part 2 of the Police Powers (Drug Detection Dogs) Regulation 2002, published in Government Gazette No. 85, dated 10 May 2002, page 2745, and tabled in this House on 4 June 2002. It is clear that the motion is to disallow part 2 of the Police Powers (Drug Detection Dogs) Regulation 2002. The Greens have moved this motion to again take a stand for justice in this State. The use of police sniffer dogs on trains is allowed under one of the regulations that was implemented as a result of the passing of the Police Powers (Drug Detection Dogs) Act 2001. This Act and the regulation that we are debating will go down in history as one of the best pieces of spin in the reign of the Labor Right in New South Wales. The Hon. Michael Costa: Thank you for that. Ms LEE RHIANNON: The Minister for Police said, "Thank you for that." I wonder how history will view that comment. Talking about spin, the Minister for Police is into propaganda to distort the actions of his police department. Police sniffer dogs will not reduce drug consumption, they will not reduce the sale of drugs, and they will not make our streets or our transport routes safer. Police sniffer dogs have one purpose and one purpose only. I note that some members of the Opposition are laughing. The PRESIDENT: Order! Ms LEE RHIANNON: The tragedy is that Opposition members will continually be outgunned on the law and order issue. We cannot beat the crew on the Government benches on the law and order issue. Opposition members might attempt to outgun Government members in relation to mandatory sentencing, but they will not win on that issue either. It would make more sense if Opposition members tried to expose the Government on its actions in relation to sniffer dogs. It is a giant advertisement for the Government to have police officers walking around the streets with sniffer dogs. The Hon. Rick Colless: What about the sniffer dogs at the airport? Are they bad too? Ms LEE RHIANNON: I am not talking about the airport; I am talking about what happens to the general public on our streets. The Hon. Rick Colless: It's the same issue. 12 June 2002 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 2971 Ms LEE RHIANNON: It is not, and if the Hon. Rick Colless listens he will understand that. This regulation is about helping to deliver Labor back into power come 22 March 2003. The Opposition should recognise that having these dogs on our streets is a giant advertisement for the Labor Government. As Carr and Costa lead their troops into election battle, trampling over people's rights is viewed as part of the road-kill necessary to their retaining the glory of Governor Macquarie Tower. Power at any price means dabbling in a police state; people's rights are fair game for Ministers in this Labor Government. It puts to shame the title "social democrat". It resembles a police state when the Government introduces a law with regulations that allow police officers to let police dogs sniff people who are out for the night at their favourite club, travelling home after a hard day's work, or on their way to school. I do not say that lightly. Even the Premier knows this is a high-risk strategy. On 1 November last year he said: I don't want to see New South Wales become a police state but I don't see how you can take this very useful tool away from the police. The Premier's comments articulate many people's concerns. The Carr-Costa play copper scenario has the hallmarks of a police state. The Premier's only justification for using police dogs is that they are a "very useful tool". Who says so? Where is the evidence? Can the Minister for Police tell us how these sniffer dogs are useful? He is quick with the photo opportunities, but what about some hard data about how our streets and transport routes have been made safer? It would be good to hear a few facts and figures about the quantities of drugs that have been taken from dealers. What about a cost analysis that will enable us to assess the effectiveness of the use of sniffer dogs? The Greens would like to see some economic rationalism applied to a Government operation for once. What about the experience overseas? If the Minister chooses to hide behind the argument that it is early days and not enough dog searches have been conducted in this State to provide hard evidence, why does he not relate some success stories from overseas? We have trawled the web and it is hard to find any good news stories on this topic. Yes, dog squads are used in some places but the tactics employed appear to be similar to those of the New South Wales Government: put on a bit of a show, set up photo opportunities, and some people will be conned. However, if we sidestep the spin doctors we find that people's civil liberties are eroded every time these sniffer dog operations are mounted. Returning to overseas experiences, I could not find any examples of sniffer dogs being used on trains, but I did identify some cases that are relevant to this debate. In 2001 California decided to eliminate the use of anti-narcotic dogs—that is what they are called in parts of the United States of America—after the State Office of the Attorney General said that making students leave their backpacks for dogs to search was unconstitutional. It is good to hear that some Attorneys General know their job description. In September 1999 a court in California ruled that the use of drug-sniffing dogs to search students was a violation of the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution. Like our common law, this amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The court found that the use of sniffer dogs was an unreasonable search in the absence of suspicion of individual wrongdoing. In England in February this year police Commander Brian Paddick banned sniffer dogs from Brixton. The dogs are used in much of Britain, including on some trains, but Commander Paddick's actions show that some police officers have their doubts. Many jurisdictions in America consider that police dogs sniffing people is a search. Lower court case law in that country indicates that a police dog sniffing a person is generally considered to be a search. This is where people's rights are being eroded. The Hon. Charlie Lynn: Criminals' rights. Ms LEE RHIANNON: No. We are talking not about criminals' rights but about the rights of everyday people on the street. I presume that the Hon. Charlie Lynn's drug of choice is alcohol, which is legal. He should think how these operations would have worked during prohibition: a young bloke like the Hon. Charlie Lynn who wanted to enjoy his drug of choice could be accosted by a police dog who was trained to sniff out alcohol. The Hon. Charlie Lynn would not like that; he would have considered it to be an invasion of his privacy. In that sense, his attitude is deeply hypocritical. The Greens have moved this disallowance motion because we are deeply concerned about what is happening to civil liberties in this State. I remind members who are attracted to the use of sniffer dogs— especially the Opposition members who are getting agitated about this issue—that the disallowance of this regulation will not stop the use of sniffer dogs on trains. This motion provides that police officers must obtain a warrant before conducting a search. There are many cases that illustrate graphically and tragically the damage that can be done by using stiffer dogs in public places. 2972 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 12 June 2002 Consider the case of the man at the Blue Mountains Magic Festival. All those who are guffawing about criminals and people having nothing to fear should listen to these cases involving people who have been harassed by police sniffer dogs and distressed by the actions of their police handlers. In a very unpleasant case, a man was at the Blue Mountains Magic Festival last year. While carrying his daughter on his shoulders, he was approached by an unmarked dog— [Interruption] Members may remember the Greens amendment that called for sniffer dogs to be identified. That would have solved these problems. But, no, these operations must be conducted in secrecy. The dog approached the man, who pushed it away with his foot. What do you think he was charged with? He was charged with cruelty to an animal. Do members think that is funny? The police are behaving pathetically. Let us see whether members laugh at this case. An 11-year-old girl standing on the steps of Sydney Town Hall was suddenly nuzzled in the crotch by a strange dog.