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Wednesday, 10 November 1982
Page: 3020


Mr N.A. BROWN (Acting Attorney-General)(10.48) —One or two honourable members have spoken since I made my last comments. I say simply that it should be remembered that the procedure for the issue of search warrants is set out in considerable detail in the Bill and of course they are issued only in the course of the Commission applying to a judge for a warrant. In the view of the Government it is quite sensible that if in the course of the investigations the person executing the warrant comes across material which he believes on reasonable grounds to be connected with a matter that is being investigated by the Commission, it is appropriate that the person executing the warrant should have the power to seize that thing. It should be recalled also that it is not simply if the person executing the warrant comes across something connected with another matter, as the honourable member for Prospect (Dr Klugman) seemed to imply; it is another matter into which the Commission is conducting an investigation. So in fact the power to seize other things found by the person executing the warrant is in fact subject to a quite reasonable restriction in that regard. It is common sense that this power should exist, and the Government is not able to accept the amendment.