Page 2022 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 June 2015
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for their crime. Proportionality is a fundamental principle in sentencing law. It is applied by the courts on a daily basis as they search for the right penalty to reflect both the gravity of the offending and all the other factors that they are required to consider.
While criminal laws develop and change, these principles remain the foundation on which our criminal justice system is built and operates 800 years on from the signing of Magna Carta. This debate today offers us the opportunity to reflect on how this important document has shaped us as a democratic society. I am confident that our human rights framework and criminal justice system will continue to develop and mature in the future based on the significance and enduring influence of Magna Carta. Eight hundred years after its signing, we celebrate a document that remains in this current day the foundation stone of the rule of law. In the words of Lord Irvine of Lairg:
Its terms continue to underpin key constitutional doctrines; its flame continues to burn in the torches of modern human rights instruments; and its spirit continues to resonate throughout the law.
Motion agreed to.
Adjournment
Motion (by Ms Burch) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Harry Irvine
MR COE (Ginninderra) (6.33): I rise tonight to talk about Harry Irvine and his inspirational family. I am glad that Harry and his family—father Brendan, mother Lauren, grandparents and great-grandfather—are able to join us in the Assembly today.
Harry Irvine is a seven-year-old Canberran who faced an extraordinary health battle. Despite the challenges, Harry has remained positive and has beaten the challenges that have come his way. Of course, his brother Cooper has gone through these times as well, and his patience and support are to be celebrated.
Harry was born in January 2008 with a large tumour at the base of his spine. The tumour was expected as it had been identified during a routine ultrasound. However, what was not expected was the amount of damage the tumour had done to Harry’s body. The tumour had managed to spread through his abdomen, bowel and bladder.
Just after being born, Harry was airlifted to the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Westmead, where he underwent an 18-hour operation to remove the tumour. Two days later, he required further major surgery, with a l2-hour operation required to finish removing the tumour. Harry spent the next month in the Westmead neonatal intensive care unit before he could finally return home to Canberra.
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