Yvette D’ath should review the manslaughter charge for Mason Lee’s death

MASON Lee’s autopsy report read like he’d been the victim of prolonged torture. The justice system has failed the 22-month-old and because of this, the Attorney General needs investigate ways to beef-up sentences in extreme cases, writes The Editor.

Toddler Mason Lee was just 22 months old when he died from injuries inflicted in his own own.

MASON Lee’s autopsy report read like he’d been the victim of prolonged torture. And torture is precisely what happened to this poor little 22-month-old in his own home.

He had a ruptured intestine and fractured coccyx from the abuse he’d endured, as well as bruising to his face and separation of his scalp.

The report also found traces of methylamphetamine in his system.

Little Mason also suffered a fractured tibia in the months before his death, an injury that would have made it painful, if not impossible, to walk. It was an injury never properly treated.

Mason lived and died in a house of horrors.

Toddler Mason Lee died from horrific injuries in the place he was supposed to be safe.

Queensland’s child safety system failed him. Despite all the reviews and reforms that have gone on in the years since the demise of the old Families Department, little Mason fell through the cracks in the dragnet.

He was not removed from the home like he should have been, not placed with a family who would have cared for him and loved him like every child deserves.

And now, inextricably or perhaps that should be predictably, the justice system has failed Mason too.

The low-life who hit Mason so hard that his intestines ruptured, his 37-year-old stepfather William Andrew O’Sullivan, has been sentenced to just nine years after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

He will be eligible for parole after serving just six years but could be out in four with time served. This is a travesty.

William Andrew O’Sullivan, 37, was sentenced to nine years jail but could be out in four years with time served.

Experts have testified that Mason’s injuries would have been inflicted on him between two and five days before he succumbed to them.

He would have endured excruciating pain, while those who were supposed to be caring for him did nothing.

The community’s expectations regarding what is defined and judged as manslaughter do not correspond with the acts that caused this little boy’s injuries, and the follow-up acts of ignoring what would have been his obvious distress.

It seems even more wrong when you consider that the courts only this week jailed a man for 15 years over a four-day drug-fuelled rampage where people were terrorised but no one died.

Was Mason’s life worth so little?

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath’s office says she is awaiting advice as to whether an appeal has any realistic possibility of success.

Too often in Queensland, killers have copped manslaughter sentences that fall well short of expectations.

Ms D’Ath should review the manslaughter charge and investigate ways to beef-up sentences in extreme cases. The system owes little Mason at least that much.

ORDINARY AUSTRALIANS PAY THE PRICE

NO ONE begrudges hardworking people earning a good wage.

However, there is often a disconnect between community expectations around what certain professions should receive and what the employment market is prepared to pay.

Revelations today that a qualified carpenter employed on the Queen’s Wharf project in Brisbane will earn $280,000 a year by working a 46-hour week will certainly split opinions.

Tradies will be envious and wonder whether the multibillion-dollar development has any jobs going, while parents will contemplate nudging their kids in the direction of apprenticeships.

However, anyone who has had to balance the books of a business will be aghast at the cost of these employees.

And they will ask this question; how did these wages get so out of hand?

Qualified carpenter working on the Queen’s Wharf project in Brisbane will earn $288,000 a year.

The answer is the thuggery and standover tactics of the CFMMEU.

This union of bully boys have such a stranglehold over development sites in Queensland that most builders dare not object. And when a builder does stand up they are subjected to the CFMMEU’s distinct style of industrial espionage where sites are closed down for spurious safety reasons until unrelated union demands are met.

The CFMMEU’s actions are aided and abetted by the Labor Party, which fosters an industrial relations environment that emboldens the worst of the union’s behaviour. It then turns a blind eye to the union’s illegal activity while happily accepting its money.

This is not a victimless crime. The cosy relationship creates costs that flow through the community.

It drives up costs for first-home buyers trying to break into the housing market. It convinces investors to take their capital elsewhere, costing jobs.

Meanwhile, the union’s behaviour gets worse, safe in the knowledge that when Labor is in power any obstacles placed in its way will be removed.

The bent logic of the CFMMEU was on display last Sunday when the union’s Victorian boss, John Setka, posted a picture on social media of his two children holding a sign saying “Go Get Fu#ked” directed at senior officials of the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

New Prime Minister Scott Morrison described Setka’s post as the “straw that breaks the camel’s back” and has promised to investigate all possible options for deregistering the union.

After such a vile contribution, you’d hope for bipartisan support. But it would be unwise to hold your breath while waiting for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to accept this course of action.

The wages being paid to carpenters by the developers of Queen’s Wharf may seem a positive to some. But in the long run it means there’s a high price to be paid by everyone.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Sam Weir, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details are available at couriermail.com.au/help/contact-us