Comments on: Criminal lawyers oppose Country Liberals on mandatory sentencing

By: Ian Sharp

Ian Sharp — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 02:07:53 +0000

Russell Goldflam makes a lot of good points here … particularly about provocation. If an assault is committed as a result of provocation then it can be raised as a mitigating circumstance in sentencing (not as a defence). The Magistrate can then decide how much weight to give it when deciding the sentence. Many times the provocation will be slight and the Magistrate will ignore it, but there are times when it is real and worth taking into account.
Mandatory sentencing denies the Magistrate the ability to take all circumstances of a case into consideration when sentencing. Bad Law, made by politicians for electoral reasons. Takes discretion away from the courts and gives it to the police / DPP when they decide what charges to lay in a matter. No appeal against their decision, unlike sentences imposed by courts. Therefore reduces accountability. Not everyone understands the system well enough to appreciate this, we need to inform ourselves. This article from the Alice News is a good start.
Hard to believe that everyone who has commented has in fact read it. Thoughtfully.

By: Russell Guy

Russell Guy — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 11:16:03 +0000

Dianne at 26 July. Regarding your comments about multiculturalism, you may not be aware that the Netherlands, with a 6 per cent Muslim population, is abandoning the long-standing model of multiculturalism that has encouraged Muslim immigrants to create a parallel society within Holland. Dutch Interior Minister Piet Hein Donner presented a new integration bill to parliament on June 16.
He announced: “The government shares the social dissatisfaction over the multicultural society model and plans to shift priority to the values of the Dutch people. In the new integration system, the values of the Dutch society play a central role. With this change, the government steps away from the model of a multicultural society. It is necessary because otherwise the society gradually grows apart and eventually no one feels at home anymore in the Netherlands.”
This is an edited version of his speech and I submit that there are some big lessons in this for Australia, in terms of a push for the introduction of Sharia law, refugee status and the unfettered continuation of the Australian multicultural model.

By: Robinoz

Robinoz — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 09:40:46 +0000

@Bob Durnan … Dubai allows “easy” sales of alcohol to people who aren’t Muslims within licensed premises and at designated take-aways. Visitors can purchase without a permit, permanent residents require a Liquor Permit which seems more to appear a regulatory approach and of course an income earner for the Emirate. One Emirate, Sharjah, I think, bans alcohol sales and consumption absolutely (they are aligned with Saudi Arabia through acquisition of debts).
Dianne is correct, the UAE is generally safer than anywhere I have been in Australia and street drunkenness and violence is very scarce. Graffiti etc are equally scarce. Drunkenness and drink driving tend to lead to three months imprisonment and deportation immediately upon release. You can’t get a permanent resident’s visa without a job and a clear criminal history. Once you cease employment, you have two weeks to leave the country. Australia could learn a lot from the UAE, but we don’t need or want any Muslim lawyers.

By: Bob Durnan

Bob Durnan — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:46:42 +0000

To Dianne (Posted July 26, 2012 at 2:33 pm): two questions: does Dubai permit easy sales of alcohol? And what punishments apply for serious assault, theft etc?

By: Penny Bell

Penny Bell — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:08:56 +0000

“Correct social thinking” will not prevent the violence; only real justice can do that. Lawyers who advocate that someone who takes my life (or anyone else’s life) should have to right freedom are on the side of the criminal.
The concept of forgiving sins / crimes in the name of the victim is very Christian. I am not a Christian – I don’t give lawyers or anyone else the right to pardon crimes against me.

By: Dianne

Dianne — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 05:03:07 +0000

In Dubai (UAE) everyone feels safe, except the criminal. Anti-social behavior is not accepted and law-abiding citizens, both locals and visitors to the UAE, enjoy real human rights, i.e. the right to walk the streets at night without fear; to attend events, visit cafes and to “own” their own society. Women in particular feel safe in the UAE and can be seen walking around on their own late at night – it’s been a long time since I felt safe in my own country.
We have for too long been intimidated by lawyers in western countries actively promoting the right of the criminal to the detriment of the innocent; but it doesn’t have to be that way. Perhaps we should expand Multiculturalism to reserve places on the bench for Muslim lawyers.

By: Russell Guy

Russell Guy — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 23:25:17 +0000

Janet @ July 26. But membership in the Terry Mills’ Country Liberal gulag-style, impoverishing and totalitarian, alcohol policy club is.

By: Janet Brown

Janet Brown — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:38:15 +0000

Russell@. If you go back into our history of the colony our legal base and understanding convicts had no rights and the horrors that thy endured. How long have women had the right to vote. Since we have colonized Australia our laws have changed, our lives have changed. Progress has seen us develop into an amazing place and through all those hundreds of years a group of paternal soul destroying people have tried to prevent and succeeded to today to keep a race of people in isolation and poverty. They have ensured that a race of people are kept illiterate and impoverished. I am not one of that group. Sorry, Russell, membership in your club is not for me

By: Russell Guy

Russell Guy — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 01:26:24 +0000

Janet Brown @ 25 July. 7: 52AM. You keep getting ahead of yourself and further out on a limb with your continual postings on “equality under law” and “paternalism.”
The law, as you see it, is the proverbial blunt instrument that should not change, e.g., the Old Testament Mosaic Law versus the New Testament Law of grace, which does not negate the Ten Commandments, but fulfills them, to give one example which your oft stated “Christian principles” should be familiar.
However, Australian laws are subject to reform in circumstances where parliamentary persuasiveness prevails on Common Law. This is so elementary that I can hardly believe it needs pointing out to progressives like yourself.
The, mostly Indigenous Australians in your sights, many for whom English is not their native language, require a social accommodation due to their differing cultural and educational backgrounds and not least, the historical one. Australian law has acted on this argument, most notably, by removing the doctrine of Terra Nullius and implementing Native Title.
Personal responsibility under the Ten Commandments, for example, still adheres under the sixth, “You shall not kill”, however, under the eighth, “You shall not steal”, Native Title sets out to make an amendment to Australian law.
I have pointed out the fallacy of your paternalism argument at the “Us and Them” site at which I have added my request for your reply to my earlier post regarding your views on alcohol supply conforming to NT Country Liberals policy, a similar blunt Law and Order approach, which, by statistical data alone, will result in an expensive social and financial failure.

By: Janet Brown

Janet Brown — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 22:22:20 +0000

Phil, we all dream but life is not a dream. We live to do our best but we’re not equal, that is why we all need to be equal under law. And that is where the true wrong happened. We are not represented by law or protected by law. One of the most amazing books I read was called The Mystic Heart of Justice. It is my recommended reading to anyone dealing with youths participating in offensive behavior. I am also a member of Restorative Justice Association in the states. Have been for 14 years. The association does not believe in paternalism and view that as the main contributor to the increase in youth crime sprees. The association believes in the value of the individual and assisting the individual recognizing that value in self.