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Prevention of Bribery (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1995

Following is the speech by the Attorney General, the Hon Jeremy Mathews, in moving the second reading of the Prevention of Bribery (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1995 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Mr President,

I move that the Prevention of Bribery (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1995 be read a second time.

The purpose of this Bill is to make the legislative amendments needed in order to implement the recommendations in the report of the ICAC Review Committee. That committee was established at the beginning of last year to review the powers of the ICAC and the accountability of the ICAC in the exercise of its powers. It was chaired by Mr Helmet Sohmen and included members of this Council, community leaders and members of the Administration.

The report of the Review Committee was published in December 1994 and Those recommendations may contained 76 conclusions and recommendations, broadly be described as evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Members of this Council were given copies of the report, and the Security Panel of the Council discussed the report in January of this year. The panel expressed strong support for several of the recommendations.

The Administration has announced that, in principle, it accepts the recommendations in the report, although some minor procedural refinements may be required in some cases. Certain of the recommendations can only be implemented by legislation, and that is the purpose of the Bill that I am now introducing. In promoting this Bill, the Government's objectives are to strike a balance between two potentially conflicting views held in the community: that the ICAC needs to have sufficient powers to be effective in the continuing battle against corruption; and that it should be more accountable and transparent in the use of those powers.

The Bill proposes amendments to the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, the Independent Commission Against Corruption Ordinance and the Magistrates Ordinance. The amendments can be grouped into three categories.