Mr STONE - 1999-11-24
A little over a week ago, the president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association made an attack on minimum mandatory sentencing for murder. In his quaint way, he said: ‘There are murders and there are murders’. He was quickly backed up by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Syd Stirling, although we’ve yet to hear anything from the Leader of the Opposition. Can the Attorney-General confirm that the CLP government, consistent with the strong law-and-order policies that we do have, will not be backing away from minimum mandatory sentencing for murders committed in the Northern Territory?
Mr Toyne: How many murders has it prevented?
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, from the member for Stuart’s interjection, asking how many murders mandatory sentencing - 20 years is life, and that’s the minimum in the Northern Territory – I can only assume that he backs up the opinion of the shadow Attorney-General and therefore that the policy of the Labor Party would be different, if we ever hear from them, than the current policy.
For the benefit of Territorians, I will explain again the situation in the Northern Territory very clearly. The Northern Territory Criminal Code provides that the punishment for murder is imprisonment for life, which cannot be mitigated or varied under the code or any other law. The life-sentenced prisoner’s sentence is reviewed by the Parole Board after the prisoner has served 20 years of imprisonment. The Parole Board then makes a recommendation to the Attorney-General as to the release of the prisoner.
The Criminal Code also provides for the partial defences of diminished responsibility and provocation, which operate to reduce the offence of murder to manslaughter. So when we are talking about ‘little murders’, as far as we are concerned little murders are currently accommodated under the charge of manslaughter or unlawful killing.
With regard to murder, the Territory government is very firm. Murder is murder and there is no way that the Territory government takes any other view. We can’t ask the victims, because they are not around to give their point of view, but certainly the victims’ families, who always figure predominantly in our thinking, would support entirely that proposition. I can assure the honourable member that the government’s policy will not change one dot.
His raising the matter provides an opportunity for the Labor leader to tell Territorians what her policy is. We are hearing the utterances of some that the Labor Party would change our policy and allow murderers out early. We need to understand clearly what that policy would be and she has ample opportunity to tell us. Labor might want also to suggest to Territorians what murderers currently in our jails they would let out. I could run through a litany of the murderers who are in our jails, and they might want to pick and choose.
The former Leader of the Opposition actually wrote to murderers in our jails seeking advice as to how Labor should frame its law-and-order policy. They might want to suggest to Territorians which of the murderers currently in our jails they would let out early. I could provide the details of the murders that were committed but it would cause some distress to the families involved, so I won’t.
It’s not much to ask of you - a simple statement to Territorians. Do you stand by the policy of this government or do you not? If you do not, what is your policy with regard to mandatory sentencing for murder?
Mr Toyne: How many murders has it prevented?
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, from the member for Stuart’s interjection, asking how many murders mandatory sentencing - 20 years is life, and that’s the minimum in the Northern Territory – I can only assume that he backs up the opinion of the shadow Attorney-General and therefore that the policy of the Labor Party would be different, if we ever hear from them, than the current policy.
For the benefit of Territorians, I will explain again the situation in the Northern Territory very clearly. The Northern Territory Criminal Code provides that the punishment for murder is imprisonment for life, which cannot be mitigated or varied under the code or any other law. The life-sentenced prisoner’s sentence is reviewed by the Parole Board after the prisoner has served 20 years of imprisonment. The Parole Board then makes a recommendation to the Attorney-General as to the release of the prisoner.
The Criminal Code also provides for the partial defences of diminished responsibility and provocation, which operate to reduce the offence of murder to manslaughter. So when we are talking about ‘little murders’, as far as we are concerned little murders are currently accommodated under the charge of manslaughter or unlawful killing.
With regard to murder, the Territory government is very firm. Murder is murder and there is no way that the Territory government takes any other view. We can’t ask the victims, because they are not around to give their point of view, but certainly the victims’ families, who always figure predominantly in our thinking, would support entirely that proposition. I can assure the honourable member that the government’s policy will not change one dot.
His raising the matter provides an opportunity for the Labor leader to tell Territorians what her policy is. We are hearing the utterances of some that the Labor Party would change our policy and allow murderers out early. We need to understand clearly what that policy would be and she has ample opportunity to tell us. Labor might want also to suggest to Territorians what murderers currently in our jails they would let out. I could run through a litany of the murderers who are in our jails, and they might want to pick and choose.
The former Leader of the Opposition actually wrote to murderers in our jails seeking advice as to how Labor should frame its law-and-order policy. They might want to suggest to Territorians which of the murderers currently in our jails they would let out early. I could provide the details of the murders that were committed but it would cause some distress to the families involved, so I won’t.
It’s not much to ask of you - a simple statement to Territorians. Do you stand by the policy of this government or do you not? If you do not, what is your policy with regard to mandatory sentencing for murder?
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016