The South Australian Government has once again demonstrated its commitment to punitive law-and-order politics over meaningful legal transformation, with a raft of new legislation that expands police powers and erodes fundamental legal protections.
‘The National Network condemns this legislation announced by the government as a way for authorities to get tough on so called “drug crime” and rejects the government’s continued use of fear-based narratives to justify the expansion of carceral systems,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘This legislation reeks of recycled policy from Queensland in the eighties, when the government sold the public a story about cracking down on organised crime—but in reality, all they did was sweep up people who use drugs, trapping them in the criminal legal system and sentencing them to life imprisonment. We’ve seen this playbook before, and it doesn’t make communities safer—it destroys lives,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
Presumption of Guilt: A Dangerous Erosion of Due Process
The government’s asset confiscation regime allows police to seize people’s homes, cars, and money before they’ve even been convicted of a crime.
‘This is a clear attack on the principle of innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof is effectively reversed, forcing individuals—often without adequate legal support—to prove their innocence and that their property is not “tainted,” said Tabitha Lean. ‘Shifting the burden of proof onto individuals to prove that their property is not connected to criminal activity, can be extremely difficult—especially for marginalised,’ said Tabitha Lean.
Criminalising Without Knowledge
One of the most alarming aspects of this legislation is the lowering of the threshold for drug prosecutions.
The reform removes the need to prove knowledge or recklessness about the identity or quantity of a drug for a drug offence to be prosecuted. This essentially criminalises intent without knowledge, which could lead to wrongful convictions—especially for people coerced into roles within the drug economy or who are low-level actors.
‘The reforms explicitly state that the prosecution does not need to prove that an individual knew the identity or quantity of a substance involved. This means that someone can now be prosecuted for a drug offence without any knowledge or intent. In practice, this will sweep up low-level actors, people coerced into roles within the drug economy, and vulnerable people doing what they can to survive,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘These reforms will result in the mass incarceration of people who use drugs, they will not be effective in targeting so called organised crime,’ said Tabitha Lean.
A Broader Expansion of Police Powers
These reforms hand even more unchecked power to police, allowing them to freeze, surveil, and seize assets with minimal oversight. This raises serious questions about accountability and proportionality.
‘At a time when South Australian Aboriginal communities are already facing disproportionate policing, surveillance, and incarceration, this expansion of state control is a direct escalation of structural violence,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
Targeting the Marginalised Under the Cloak of “Organised Crime”
Despite the government’s language about disrupting “serious drug offending,” and addressing “organised crime,” this legislation will almost certainly be used against survival-based drug offences. In practice, we believe that these laws will target low-income, street-level, and survival-based offending, particularly among Aboriginal communities, young people, and women.
People who use or sell drugs often do so under conditions of poverty, trauma, or coercion—not as part of sophisticated criminal enterprises.
‘These laws don’t touch the top of the chain—they punish the bottom. The single mother selling small amounts of cannabis to survive, the young Aboriginal person caught up in the system—these are the people who will pay the price,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
Punishment Over Prevention—Again
There is no evidence that harsher penalties, asset confiscation, or broader prosecutorial powers reduce drug use or organised crime. This legislation doubles down on carceral logic, rather than investing in community-based, trauma-informed, and health-oriented responses to drug use and its underlying drivers.
‘There is no evidence that seizing property or increasing penalties deters drug use or organised crime. What works are community-based, trauma-informed, health-oriented responses—not more prisons, more police, and more surveillance. But once again, this government chooses punishment over prevention, control over care, and optics over outcomes,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘This legislation is not about safety or justice. It is a regressive, reactionary move that entrenches carceral logic, disproportionately harms criminalised people, and abandons any commitment to real justice or community well-being,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘The National Network call on the South Australian Government to withdraw these laws and invest instead in solutions that address the root causes of drug involvement: poverty, homelessness, trauma, and systemic inequality,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘Governments need to stop handing more power to the police—the biggest, most violent gang in this country,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘These laws won’t keep anyone safe. They’ll just supercharge the harm already being done to our communities, especially to people who use drugs. Instead of locking more people up, the government should be investing in real support—housing, healthcare, harm reduction – not police raids and asset seizures. This legislation isn’t about safety—it’s about politics, expanding police power, and filling up prisons,’ said Tabitha Lean.
For further comment, please contact Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474 or Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226.
