Unexplained Wealth !

When a neighbour suddenly buys a Maserati, takes overseas holidays and is often seen squiring beautiful women to social events there is usually suspicion that this wealth has been illegally obtained.  The drug scene is often the venue for unexplained wealth.

A new law is percolating through a Senate committee which will give new powers to investigate the source of income on a national basis in place of the mix of state laws that deliver very different outcomes.  The laws of Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales have little in common and no law at all exists in the ACT.

This " unexplained wealth " legislation will force people convicted of crimes to prove that their wealth was derived from legitimate sources, rather than the onus being on the prosecutors to prove that it came from the proceeds of crime.  Banks will be forced to hand over any information they have on the unexpected wealth of a convicted client.

The Police Federation has been lobbying for this power for decades.  Crime bosses have been exploiting the difference in criminal laws in Australia, they claimed in their submission.  Both the Law Council and Civil Liberties Australia have reservations and have expressed concern that this new law could be misused.

Civil Liberties Australia cited the issue of such a law review passed in 2017 in Tasmania.  It was not confined to use against organized crime figures but applied to anyone whose wealth was unexplained or who may have profited from crime.  They found that Tasmania's unexplained wealth laws had been used to recover amounts as low as $3000.

This proposed legislation has been approved by the Labor, Greens and Coalition Senators on the committee and will provide exemptions for unexplained wealth under $100,000 or if the court is satisfied such an order " is not in the public interest ".  This will stop it being used for what are termed " fishing expeditions " arising from a conviction for a small and totally unconnected event such as a speeding fine.

Criminals are often their worst enemy when it comes to hiding their wealth.  The outcome of a drug bust often uncovers a treasure trail of opulent vehicles and " toys for the boys " which include jet skis, yachts and trail bikes.  This is flaunting wealth in the public eye and it is very reasonable that those convicted of a crime should be asked to explain the source of their money.

High on the list will be bikie gangs.  This is organized crime at its worst and is almost a separate universe.  Few people will object to a law that exposes the high end of crime to a need to explain wealth sources so long as this does not degenerate into a probe to allow governments to harass and intrude into the private lives of ordinary citizens.

That will depend on how this law is worded, and how it is interpreted by those judges who apply our laws !