The government will now consider imposing stiffer penalties on offenders who commit assaults against off-duty officers after its mandatory sentencing plan failed in Parliament on Wednesday.
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The Legislative Council overwhelmingly rejected the government’s plan to introduce six-month mandatory sentences for serious assaults with just Windermere independent MLC Ivan Dean and Huon independent MLC Robert Armstrong voting with the Liberals.
Members reasoned that the bill was flawed and was not evidence-based.
Rumney Labor MLC Sarah Lovell said it seemed like the bill was a reaction to a single off-duty police officer assault in Carrick this year.
“And there is no evidence that mandatory sentences are the appropriate option,” she said.
McIntyre-East independent MLC Tania Rattray supported the move in 2014 to impose mandatory sentences on perpetrators who assaulted on-duty officers.
But she said the new bill was too ambiguous, particularly around the notion of whether the offender knew the victim was a police officer.
“I’m struggling to see how it will work in practice,” Ms Rattray said.
Murchison independent MLC Ruth Forrest said the intention of the bill overrode a separation of powers between parliament and the judiciary, and undermined the judiciary’s discretionary authority.
Ms Forrest said there were questions around unintended consequences resulting from the bill.
“I also fear that there will be unjust outcomes,” she said.
“Let us trust our judiciary to do the job they are skilled in.”
Mersey independent MLC Mike Gaffney said mandatory sentencing was “a flawed and populist policy”.
Along with others, he said he did not want to downplay the seriousness of assaults against police officers.
“But this is not a well-reasoned and appropriate improvement to the law,” Mr Gaffney said.
Mr Dean said police officers were more likely to be assaulted than a private citizen “to level a score” and required appropriate protection.
He said a new bill needed to be brought before the Legislative Council which increased penalties for assaults on off-duty officers, sensing that would get more support from members who were just opposed to the concept of mandatory sentences.
Leader of Government Business in the Legislative Council, Leonie Hiscutt, said the government was prepared to consider such a bill.
Meanwhile, government legislation to allow for the state’s volunteer firefighters to claim worker’s compensation for illness contracted while on the job was supported by the upper house with amendments.
Labor sought to include workers with the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and Sustainable Timber Tasmania who were called upon to fight bushfires.
The government, however, did not support the amendment, claiming it was uncosted.
Ms Lovell called on the government to support the change when the legislation returns to the lower house.
