By Tom Minear
Herald Sun
November 23, 2016
Violent criminals who murder police officers will never be eligible for parole under a plan being developed by the State Government.
The new laws, to be introduced to Parliament next month, mean Russell St bomber Craig Minogue will never be released from prison.
The legislation will be retrospective and the government says it will apply to a small handful of prisoners who are currently serving time for killing police.
It comes after the Opposition introduced its own legislation earlier today to keep Minogue behind bars.
He was jailed in 1986 after the horrific attack which claimed the life of young police officer Angela Taylor and injured 21 other people.
Minogue received a life sentence with a non-parole period of 28 years.
He recently applied for an early release, prompting the Opposition to call on Premier Daniel Andrews to introduce special laws to keep him in jail, as the former government did to block the release of mass murderer Julian Knight.
Mr Andrews said this morning that he would not support the Opposition’s legislation, instead announcing his government’s own plan to keep cop killers in prison.
“What we’ll do is we will legislate as a government properly, doing this in a comprehensive manner,” he said.
“I want make it clear to all Victorians that anybody who takes the life of a member of our Victoria Police force will not be eligible for any parole whatsoever.”
“They are changes that the government will make, they will be done properly and in a comprehensive way, and I’ll have to more to say about that soon.”
Mr Guy said the Parliament was “running out of time” to pass specific laws to block Minogue’s release, with just five sitting days left for the year.
“The government hasn’t acted and if they don’t, I will,” he said.
Opposition police spokesman Edward O’Donohue later said the Premier had been “embarrassed into action”.
“The Andrews Government must now explain if any changes it makes will apply only to police, or all emergency services personnel,” he said.
The government is still drafting the legislation but the Herald Sun understands that it will currently only apply to those who murder police officers.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It would be nice if this plan were to go into effect for all of Australia. It would be even nicer, much nicer, if Australia were to reinstate the death penalty so that cop killers would get their just deserves.
2 comments:
Other Australian states will eventually follow this plan - it's only a matter of time.
The chance of Australia reinstating the death penalty is next to zero. The death penalty is not a 'political issue' in Australia anymore, since the last execution in 1967. It is very rare for an Australian person to call for the death penalty of a convicted murderer. The homicide rate in Australia remains historical low (1.8 victims per 100,000 persons). In the majority of homicides in Australia the offender and victim are known to each other. Contrary to popular public belief, gun control reform laws in Australia have had no effect on the homicide rate.
On March 10, 2010 - the Australian federal parliament passed laws ensuring that capital punishment can never be reintroduced in any jurisdiction. All sides of Australian politics supported the symbolic laws, which ensures that all Australian states and territories can never reinstate the death penalty. There were no speeches or votes against it.
On May 17, 2011 - the Australian federal government moved to block any calls for Sharia law in Australia, strongly rejecting any proposal for the introduction of sharia law, adding that there is no place for the ‘eye-for-an-eye’ justice in Australian society with a stable democracy.
On November 20, 2012 - Australia was among a record 110 countries which backed a resolution, voted on every two years, at the United Nations General Assembly committee calling for the abolition of the death penalty, worldwide.
Dorina is head of the leading anti-death penalty organization in Australia. She is also a very dear friend of mine.
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