Page 4180 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 23 October 2019
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Finally, the bill introduces 13 aggravated offences against frontline community service providers. The introduction of aggravated offences recognises that some acts of violence, as I have said, are worse than others and that violence towards frontline community service providers deserves separate and more severe treatment because of the work that they do on our behalf. It also reflects a growing community desire for proportionate punishment for attacks against these very good men and women who put themselves on the line every single day for our benefit, for our safety and for our security.
The 13 aggravated offences established in the bill are as follows: manslaughter, intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm, recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, wounding, assault with intent to commit another offence, inflicting actual bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, causing grievous bodily harm, acts endangering life et cetera, acts endangering health et cetera, throwing et cetera objects at vehicles, culpable driving of a motor vehicle and kidnapping.
The available penalties for these aggravated offences are roughly 25-30 per cent higher than the available penalties for the simple offences. This gives the judiciary the flexibility to punish offenders more appropriately. It also sends a clear message that this Assembly takes these attacks, whether they be on nurses, health workers, prison officers, ambulance officers, firefighters or police very seriously and expects them to be dealt with accordingly.
Madam Speaker, police officers, paramedics, firefighters, nurses, doctors and prison guards are some of the best and the bravest people that we have in our city. They continually turn up to work, despite increasing requests being made of them for their time, their work and their effort. They work tirelessly for us all and are exposed to risks far greater than what is expected of you and me.
These hardworking men and women in uniform, and their work, deserve to be fully backed up by their politicians in the work they undertake on behalf of and in the service of the whole community. This is what my bill does. The Canberra Liberals have called for and presented these laws since 2011. Yesterday when the minister tabled similar legislation he stated that it is true that since 2011 such attacks have been on the rise. They are steadily increasing year on year.
As a result, we have been working for a year and half to prepare this legislation. This is a bill that I started whilst I was on maternity leave in our hospital for two weeks, after having significant operations, while those very people who are protected by this bill suffered from overwork, which is a problem of all our frontline personnel.
So I say to the men and women on the front line: I back you up 100 per cent. The Canberra Liberals back you up 100 per cent. I call on the entire Assembly to back each and every one of these dangerous professions and each and every one of these amazing personnel 100 per cent. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Gentleman) adjourned to the next sitting.
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