21st Aug 2012, 5:19 PM – Senate Criminal Code Amendment (Cluster Munitions Prohibition) Bill 2010- In Committee - New defence

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by Greens Senator Scott Ludlam (WA), which means it was unsuccessful.

What did this amendment do?

Senator Ludlam explained:

The section this amendment seeks to fix allows Australian troops to actively assist countries that have not signed up to the convention to deploy and use these munitions. This occurred in Iraq when the convention did not exist in 2003, and we have discussed that extensively.

What is this bill?

The bill will bring the Convention on Cluster Munitions into Australian law by, for example, creating offences in relation to cluster munitions and explosive bomblets.

Read more in the bills digest.

Amendment text

(5) Schedule 1, item 1, page 6 (lines 7 to 31), omit section 72.41, substitute:

72.41 Defence—participation by Australians in military cooperation with countries not party to Convention on Cluster Munitions

A person who is an Australian citizen, is a member of the Australian Defence Force or is performing services under a Commonwealth contract does not commit an offence against section 72.38 by merely participating in military cooperation or operations with a foreign country that is not a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Note 1: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this section: see subsection 13.3(3).

Note 2: The expression offence against section72.38 is given an extended meaning by subsections 11.2(1) and 11.2A(1), section 11.3 and subsection 11.6(2).

Note 3: This section relates to paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 21 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.