Opposition bid to change sentencing discount laws before parliament mid-year break defeated by 21-23 votes
The Opposition’s bid for an early change to controversial sentencing laws – which would jail sex offenders for longer – has been defeated, with the Government’s own Bill months away.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- No more mercy: Labor moves to slash sentencing discounts
- Government says its bill will reduce discounts to 25 per cent
- How to get the most out of your Advertiser digital subscription
A bid to overturn the state’s sentencing discount laws before parliament’s mid-year break has been defeated – and the Opposition says the fault “rest squarely” with the State Government.
On Wednesday, Labor’s draft bill to reduce guilty plea discounts from 40 per cent to 25 per cent was voted down, 23-21.
The State Government has already announced its intention to table a draft bill, with the same effect, when parliament resumes in September.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Kyam Maher said he was “deeply disappointed” that the Opposition’s “simple, straightforward” bill had been rejected.
“Steven Marshall made the decision to block the urgent passage of this legislation. If any other child sex offender spends less time jail during this time, the fault will squarely rest with him,” he said.
“The safety of people, especially children, just has to be the top priority of any Government.
“Every single Liberal Member of Parliament – including Paula Leuthen, Richard Harvey, Rachel Sanderson – now must explain to the people who voted for them, why they won’t prioritise keeping child sex offenders in jail.”
The Opposition had previously called for sentencing discount laws to be rewritten before parliament breaks this week, otherwise the community will remain at “unnecessary risk” from sex predators.
In a letter obtained by The Advertiser, Mr Maher challenged Attorney-General Vickie Chapman to immediately act on the controversial discounts.
“In the absence of action by the Government, I am now calling on you to immediately support Labor’s legislation,” he writes.
“We can fix this in the coming three days or you can continue to place the community at unnecessary risk.
“I would welcome the opportunity to provide a briefing to you or your office at the earliest opportunity.”
However, Ms Chapman said the Opposition was “well aware” its bill had “no chance of being properly implemented” before Friday.
She said the government’s legislation would be ready upon Parliament’s resumption in September.
“I have had to fix a number of pieces of legislation the Labor Party hurriedly put together while in Government, and I refuse to continue that legacy,” she said.
“We always want to limit the possibility of legal challenge, which is why it’s important to get it right.”
In 2010, the then-Labor Government offered criminals sentencing discounts of up to 40 per cent in exchange for guilty pleas to ease court backlogs.
A review into the laws was conducted, at the State Government’s request, in 2018 – last year it recommended the discounts be reduced, but no action was taken.
Two weeks ago, Blair Athol toilet block sex offender Hamzeh Bahrami received the maximum discount despite abusing a girl, 10, in April 2019.
The sentence, which sees Bahrami eligible for release on parole in less than two years, prompted Mr Maher to draft a bill that overwrites his predecessors’ legislation.
The day after Mr Maher’s announcement, Ms Chapman said the government had been working on its own draft bill for 12 months, and was ready to table it.
In his letter, Mr Maher says that bill has not materialised despite there being just three sitting days left before Parliament’s midwinter break.
He says that, under Labor’s bill, serious offenders who plead guilty within four weeks of arrest would receive a maximum 25 per cent off their eventual sentence.
That discount drops to 15 per cent for pleas entered after four weeks, but before committal, and to 10 per cent for confessions after committal but prior to trial.
Any pleas immediately prior to trial would receive a 5 per cent discount.
“(The review) recommended that, for the most serious offences such as child sex crimes, maximum discounts be reduced from forty per cent to twenty five per cent,” he says.
“Labor’s Bill implements these recommendations.
“In recent weeks, Hamzeh Bahrami was provided the maximum sentence discount after sexually assaulting a young girl in a public toilet.
“Mr Bahrami would be in prison longer if you had acted on the report’s recommendations.”
The Opposition will table its draft bill in parliament on Wednesday.