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Public Briefing

The Committee held a public briefing on the Bill with the Queensland Police Service at Parliament House, Brisbane on Friday 13 September 2013 .

The briefing was broadcast live on the Queensland Parliament website.

Copies of the transcript can be accessed here or at Related Publications.

Call for Submissions

Submissions closed on Friday, 13 September 2013.

Objective of the Bill

The objectives of the Bill are to provide police officers and appointed persons special powers to:

1. protect the safety or security of persons attending any part of the G20 meeting, which is comprised of the Group of Twenty leaders’ summit in Brisbane 2014, the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ meeting in Cairns 2014, any official meeting of sherpas in Queensland in 2014, and any other G20 event;
2. ensure the safety of members of the public from acts of civil disobedience in relation to any part of the G20 meeting;
3. protect property from damage from civil disobedience in relation to any part of the G20 meeting;
4. prevent acts of terrorism directly or indirectly related to any part of the G20 meeting; and
5. regulate traffic and pedestrian movement to ensure the passage of motorcades related to any part of the G20 meeting is not impeded.

The Bill also makes amendments to the Holidays Act 1983 and the Industrial Relations Act 1999 to prescribe that Friday 14 November 2014 will be a public holiday and that work on that day will be recognised as work on a public holiday.

Amendments to the Trading (Allowable Hours) Act 1990 are also contained in the Bill to provide that normal Friday shop trading hours will apply, rather than the reduced trading hours that would apply on a public holiday.

The Bill, as a stand alone piece of legislation, will expire at the end of the G20 period.

Other Information

The G20 (Safety and Security) Bill 2013 and Explanatory Notes are available from the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel at www.legislation.qld.gov.au.

The Hansard transcript of the explanatory speech for the Bill can be accessed here.

Public Hearing

The Committee held a public hearing on the Bill at Parliament House, Brisbane on Thursday 26 September 2013.

The hearing was broadcast live on the Queensland Parliament website.

Copies of the transcript can be accessed here or at Related Publications.

Reason for the Bill

The 2014 meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20) will be hosted by Australia. Queensland was nominated by the former Prime Minister as the primary venue for the G20. A G20 meeting consists of a number of meetings under the general G20 umbrella.

From a Queensland perspective, the two most important meetings will be the Heads of State/Heads of Government meeting (Leaders’ Summit) to be held in Brisbane on 15-16 November 2014, and the Finance Ministers’ meeting to be held in Cairns on 20-21 September 2014.

In collaboration with other agencies, the Queensland Police Service is responsible for providing security for the G20 delegates and for all meeting and accommodation venues, motorcade routes and any other event associated with a G20 meeting. The Queensland Police Service is also responsible for ensuring that members of the public and their property come to no harm as a result of illegal activities by persons opposed to the G20 meetings.

Only limited powers are available under the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 to deal with an event of this scale and magnitude.

Referral

On 20 August 2013 the Minister for Police and Community Safety, the Honourable Jack Dempsey MP, introduced the G20 (Safety and Security) Bill 2013 into the Queensland Parliament.  In accordance with Standing Order 131 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly, the Bill was referred to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee for detailed consideration.

By motion of the House, the Committee is required to report to the Parliament by Tuesday, 22 October 2013.

Report

On 22 October 2013, the Committee tabled its Report No. 41, G20 (Safety and Security) Bill 2013. A copy of the report is available here or can be accessed at Related Publications.

The Government tabled its response to the Committee's report on 29 October 2013. A copy of the Government Response is available here or can be accessed at Related Publications.

The G20 (Safety and Security) Bill 2013 was passed, with amendment, by the Legislative Assembly on 29 October 2013.