Thursday, 20 February 2020

Emergency services mandatory sentencing legislation

Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern—Leader of the Opposition) (11:09): My question is to the Premier: on 22 May 2018 the Premier boasted of his mandatory sentencing law:

… if you attack and injure an emergency worker, you will go to jail.

James Haberfield was found guilty of punching paramedic Monica in the face but walked free from the Magistrates Court on a community correction order. In dismissing the DPP’s appeal in December 2019, the County Court said:

In truth, it is not a mandatory sentencing provision. A mandatory provision would say that if ‘crime X’ is committed, ‘sentence Y’ is the invariable, the only result. No ifs. No buts.

Premier, will you finally strengthen these laws so the next thug who bashes an emergency services worker goes to jail—no ifs, no buts.

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (11:10): I would have thought that there was simply no need for any of us to be arguing or debating the notion of—

A member interjected.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier has the call.

Mr ANDREWS: Well, given I have been invited, I will provide a bit of a history lesson to those who put forward a law—a series of laws—back in 2014. There was a reference that ‘these sentences apply unless the following grounds are met’, and the last in that long list was ‘any other reason’. In other words, drive a truck through it. It was the broadest set of get-outs you could possibly have—a whole lot of special reasons or any other reason, special or otherwise.

Members interjecting.

Mr ANDREWS: Exactly. We will not be lectured by those opposite on these matters. Every case should be heard on its merits, and if there are—

Mr M O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier seems to have forgotten his job is to be questioned—not lecture but be questioned—and we are questioning him, and we are asking him why his rhetoric has not been met in reality and why paramedics are left not protected by his laws.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order.

Mr ANDREWS: There are a number of Victorians who have assaulted paramedics and other members of the emergency services, and they have received a custodial sentence. That is the latest advice that I have. In relation to this specific case that the Leader of the Opposition raises, that has been appealed. From day one we have been clear that there are very, very limited circumstances in which a custodial sentence can be avoided. We have also—the Attorney-General, the Minister for Police and Emergency Services and me—made it clear that following the appeal we would look very closely, and if there was a need to strengthen these provisions further, then we would do that. But I am not going to be lectured on supporting paramedics by those opposite. I simply will not be lectured by those opposite on supporting paramedics. I just will not cop that. But what we also will not settle for is this kind of rank hypocrisy. What is more, we will not settle for people using our emergency services as punching bags. If we need to strengthen—

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I warn the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr ANDREWS: It is quite amazing, those who have found their voice. They have found their voice. When there were no such provisions, and to the extent that there were there were get-outs that ran to pages—pages of get-outs—a whole range of specifics or any other reason you can think of.

Mr M O’Brien: Why won’t you do something about it?

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition!

Mr ANDREWS: This is the problem. The Leader of the Opposition is incapable of listening. If he was listening to the answer, then he would not be doing this kind of inane shouting back at me. He is just embarrassing himself. Listen to the answer.

Mr M O’Brien interjected.

Mr ANDREWS: You are not embarrassing yourself then.

Mr M O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question. The question was: Premier, will you finally strengthen these laws? I will not go into the rest of it. It was: will you strengthen these laws? That is the question. The Premier owes the community and he owes emergency services workers an answer. Will he strengthen the laws, yes or no?

The SPEAKER: Order! It was a long question with a lot of issues raised. The Premier has concluded his answer.

Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern—Leader of the Opposition) (11:13): Yesterday Chief Judge of the County Court, His Honour Peter Kidd, told 3AW:

The laws that you’re talking about, they are not mandatory.

Unfortunately there is commentary out there which suggests they are. The community has been misled about what these laws are.

Premier, why did you mislead Victorians by telling them:

… if you attack and injure an emergency worker, you will go to jail.

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (11:14): I am having it put to me by the Leader of the Opposition that these are terrible laws, and yet they voted for them; such a terrible set of arrangements that those opposite voted for them. Instead of playing silly political games, let me make it clear—and let us hope the Leader of the Opposition has turned his ears on and is listening now—if we need to go further, we will.

Mr M O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, the opposition actually proposed amendments to strengthen those laws, which the government failed to back.

The SPEAKER: Order! That is not a point of order. The Premier has concluded his answer.