Blake Corney’s father Andrew, Opposition spokesperson for police Jeremy Hanson, Lachlan Seary’s mother Janice and Matthew McLuckie’s dad Tom. Photo: Lottie Twyford.
When Blake Corney’s father Andrew, Lachlan Seary’s mother Janice and Matthew McLuckie’s dad walked out of the Assembly chamber this morning, not one of them had a dry eye.
Each of those parents had lost a child in horrific circumstances – all of them the blameless victims of road trauma.
The group of bereaved parents turned advocates had just watched Opposition spokesperson for police Jeremy Hanson move a motion of no-confidence in Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury after the latter refused to commit to an independent review of sentencing and bail.
The Attorney-General survived the motion and the Opposition was accused of playing politics.
Mr McLuckie said he was very disappointed in the Chief Minister, in particular, who did not acknowledge the victims of crime this morning as he provided his support to Mr Rattenbury.
All three parents said they wanted a review.
Mr Hanson said he would not give up on this issue.
“The fight isn’t over. We may have lost this battle, but we will not lose the war,” he said.
“Give me a substantive reason and I will stop … Do you think I will stop? Do you think Tom McLuckie will stop? Do you think the other victims of crime in this room will stop?”
Mr Hanson railed against the government’s “inexplicable” refusal to commit to something so simple.
This afternoon, a motion moved by Mr Hanson called on the government once more to commit to a review.
That also failed.
Two teenage girls were killed in a crash on the Monaro Highway on Sunday. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Mr Hanson said the weekend’s fatal crash on the Monaro Highway, which left two teenage girls dead, was further proof something needed to be done.
The alleged 16-year-old driver of that car has been charged with two counts of culpable driving causing death, as well as breach of bail and a good behaviour order.
But Mr Rattenbury accused Mr Hanson of being unaware of the full circumstances of the alleged driver’s life nor of the support they had in the community and if they were participating in any programs for rehabilitation.
“Those are all the details the courts have … as they try to make balanced decisions to get good outcomes for the community,” he said.
“I agree with the system … that trusts this great decision to the judiciary.”
Mr Rattenbury said every death on the road was a tragedy and his heart went out to anyone who lost a loved one.
“We could have a one-off review, but I don’t think that will make a difference,” he said.
Mr Rattenbury said he had met with the families and heard their concerns.
“I understand these families are in terrible pain … the government is working on these issues.
“We’ve seen a polarisation of views in the chamber today, which I think is unhelpful.”
He said sustained work – such as the recidivism strategy and Transport Canberra reviewing traffic offences and penalties – could make more of an impact.
The Justice and Community Safety directorate was also reviewing how prior conduct was taken into consideration when making bail decisions and was working with ACT Policing on issues relating to motor vehicle theft.
Mr Rattenbury also highlighted work underway to set up the sentencing advisory council he had announced last week.
Ultimately, Mr Rattenbury accused Mr Hanson of running an extreme position that the government could not support.
“We’re going to make a difference by investing in breaking the cycle of criminality,” he said.
“We can’t keep doing it the way we have done. Our jails will just fill up, we will have to build more, and when those people are released they will come back out and keep reoffending.”
This was the fifth no-confidence motion moved by the Canberra Liberals this electoral term.
Mr Barr accused the Canberra Liberals of devaluing the serious nature of no-confidence motions by moving so many.
“No minister has the confidence of the Opposition, that is politics,” he said.
He called on the Opposition to lay down its weapons and engage constructively on these issues.
Loading ...
