NCJ Number
152134
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 27 Issue: 2 Dated: (September 1994) Pages: 174-191
Date Published
1994
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article counters the arguments against the enactment of cash-transaction reporting legislation in Australia.
Abstract
In an effort to improve the detection and regulation of organized crime activities and tax evasion, the Australian Federal Government enacted the Proceeds of Crime Act in 1987 and established the Cash Transactions Report Agency in 1988, a body with the mandate to act as a clearinghouse for information relating to the "money trail." Opponents of this legislation have argued that such legislation and the regimes that it supports pose an attack on traditional domains of privacy. This article suggests that such arguments may play into the hands of "New Right" agendas rather than undermining them. The "New Right" supports minimal or no government regulation or intervention in business or entrepreneurial activities. Cash-transaction reporting legislation does not comply with this agenda. This article also explores the applicability of the Foucauldian notion of "governmentality" regarding recent developments in financial reporting and monitoring. The manner in which this legislation has influenced the conduct of commercial actors is examined. Also addressed is the issue of the potential limits (if any) to the encroachment by the state into the previously private conduct of both those who operate and those who use the banking and financial system. The author advises that the implementation of the legislation, particularly the priority given to various kinds of financial transactions, will finally determine whose interests the legislation serves. 19 notes and 22 references