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TASMANIA
__________
CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT (ARSON) BILL
2013
__________
CONTENTS
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
2. Commencement
PART 2 - CRIMINAL CODE ACT 1924 AMENDED
3. Principal Act
4. Schedule 1 amended (Criminal Code)
PART 3 - SENTENCING ACT 1997 AMENDED
5. Principal Act
6. Part 9, Division 2A inserted
Division 2A - Recovery of costs and expenses
69A. Recovery of costs and expenses
69B. Enforcement of recovery order
PART 4 - MISCELLANEOUS
7. Repeal of Act
[Bill 70]-II
2
CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT (ARSON) BILL
2013
(Brought in by the Minister for Justice, the Honourable Brian
Neal Wightman)
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Criminal Code Act 1924 and the
Sentencing Act 1997
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by
and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and
House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Criminal Code
Amendment (Arson) Act 2013.
2. Commencement
This Act commences on the day on which this
Act receives the Royal Assent.
[Bill 70] 3
Criminal Code Amendment (Arson) Act 2013
Act No. of
s. 3 Part 2 - Criminal Code Act 1924 Amended
PART 2 - CRIMINAL CODE ACT 1924 AMENDED
3. Principal Act
In this Part, the Criminal Code Act 1924* is
referred to as the Principal Act.
4. Schedule 1 amended (Criminal Code)
Schedule 1 to the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting from section 267(3) "An"
and substituting "Except as otherwise
provided in this chapter, an";
(b) by omitting from section 268 "or to any
stack or heap of cultivated vegetable
produce, or of timber, or of mineral or
vegetable fuel, or to any mine, or to any
ship or vessel, whether completed or
not,";
(c) by omitting subsection (1) from section
268A and substituting the following
subsection:
(1) A person is guilty of a crime -
(a) if the person unlawfully
sets fire to any vegetation,
whether live or dead; or
(b) if -
*No. 69 of 1924
4
Criminal Code Amendment (Arson) Act 2013
Act No. of
Part 2 - Criminal Code Act 1924 Amended s. 4
(i) the person sets or
maintains a fire
that spreads to
vegetation or other
vegetation; and
(ii) the person knew,
or ought to have
known, that the
fire was likely to
so spread; and
(iii) the fire in that
vegetation or other
vegetation would
have been
unlawfully set if it
had been set
directly by that
person rather than
occurring by the
spread of the fire
as originally set or
maintained by the
person.
Charge: Unlawfully setting fire to
vegetation.
(d) by omitting from section 268A(2)(e)
"log." and substituting "log; or";
(e) by inserting the following paragraph after
paragraph (e) in section 268A(2):
(f) any stack or heap of -
5
Criminal Code Amendment (Arson) Act 2013
Act No. of
s. 4 Part 2 - Criminal Code Act 1924 Amended
(i) cultivated vegetable
produce; or
(ii) timber; or
(iii) mineral fuel; or
(iv) vegetable fuel.
(f) by omitting from section 269 "or 268A".
6
Criminal Code Amendment (Arson) Act 2013
Act No. of
Part 3 - Sentencing Act 1997 Amended s. 5
PART 3 - SENTENCING ACT 1997 AMENDED
5. Principal Act
In this Part, the Sentencing Act 1997* is referred
to as the Principal Act.
6. Part 9, Division 2A inserted
After section 69 of the Principal Act, the
following Division is inserted in Part 9:
Division 2A - Recovery of costs and expenses
69A. Recovery of costs and expenses
(1) If a court finds a person guilty, or
convicts a person, of an arson offence,
the court may order the offender to pay
the reasonable costs and expenses
incurred by the Crown, the State Fire
Commission or a Government Business
Enterprise in responding to, and fighting,
the fire that is the subject of the offence.
(2) An order under subsection (1) may be
made by the court -
(a) on its own motion; or
(b) on an application made -
(i) by the Crown, the State
Fire Commission or the
*No. 59 of 1997
7
Criminal Code Amendment (Arson) Act 2013
Act No. of
s. 6 Part 3 - Sentencing Act 1997 Amended
Government Business
Enterprise in whose
favour the order is sought;
or
(ii) on behalf of the Crown,
the State Fire
Commission or a
Government Business
Enterprise by the DPP.
(3) An application under subsection (2)(b) is
to be made as soon as practicable after
the offender is found guilty or convicted
of the offence.
(4) Nothing in subsection (2)(b)(ii) requires
the DPP to make an application on behalf
of the Crown, the State Fire Commission
or a Government Business Enterprise.
(5) Nothing in this section takes away from,
or affects the right of, any person to
recover damages for, or to be
indemnified against, any injury, loss,
destruction or damage so far as it is not
satisfied by payment or recovery of costs
and expenses under this section.
(6) In determining, for the purposes of this
section, the amount of costs and
expenses, the court is not bound by the
rules of evidence and may inform itself
in any matter in any way it considers
appropriate.
(7) In this section -
8
Criminal Code Amendment (Arson) Act 2013
Act No. of
Part 3 - Sentencing Act 1997 Amended s. 6
arson offence means an offence under
section 268, 268A, 269 or 269A
of the Criminal Code;
Government Business Enterprise has
the same meaning as in the
Government Business Enterprises
Act 1995;
State Fire Commission means the
State Fire Commission
established under section 7 of the
Fire Service Act 1979.
69B. Enforcement of recovery order
An order requiring the payment of costs
and expenses made by the Supreme
Court under section 69A is taken to be a
judgment of that court and is enforceable
under the Supreme Court Civil
Procedure Act 1932.
9
Criminal Code Amendment (Arson) Act 2013
Act No. of
s. 7 Part 4 - Miscellaneous
PART 4 - MISCELLANEOUS
7. Repeal of Act
This Act is repealed on the three hundred and
sixty fifth day from the day on which it
commences.
10 Government Printer, Tasmania