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| Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. Territorians are aware that our police do a tough job. They work long and hard hours and they often do so in circumstances that are less than ideal. They are employed in one of the few workplaces where people are deliberately and intentionally trying to thwart their efforts to bring peace and good order to our community. The job is a dangerous one. There are people in our community who would not think twice about hurting a police officer, man or woman. There are others in our community who, in a drunken (inaudible), for instance might think that having a fight with a police officer is a good idea. Police officers are all too often punched, spat upon, kicked, scratched and abused by members of the public for a variety of reasons. Some time ago, the NT Police Association called for the introduction of minimum sentences for those who assault police officers in the course of their duties or because of their duties. We in the opposition agree with their view and, indeed, I advised the Police Association at the conference when I spoke to them on Monday morning that I would be introducing this bill. The bill that we have elected to introduce makes some simple amendments to the Criminal Code. The aim of the legislation is to provide minimum sentences that arise out of assaults against police, covered by section 189A of the Criminal Code, and the bill seeks to repeal that section and replace it with a new section. Subsection 1 creates the offence of assaulting a police officer. Subsection 2 states that a minimum penalty must be imposed for a person who has been found guilty of assaulting a police officer. It also imposes a requirement that a person found guilty will be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than six months. Subsection 3 goes on to say that a person who has been found guilty of an assault against a police officer can be sent to gaol for a maximum of two years if they are dealt with by a court of summary jurisdiction, or a maximum of five years if they are found guilty by a superior court. Subsection 4 deals with assaults that cause bodily harm, that is, when the police officer suffers a physical injury that is not permanent in nature. Subsection 5 outlines a requirement that when a person who injures an officer in such a fashion that they will serve at least two years in gaol. Subsection 6 says that a court of summary jurisdiction can impose a sentence of up to three years in such an instance, or that a superior court may sentence a person convicted of causing bodily harm to a police officer to as much as seven years in prison. Subsections 7 and 8, in essence, say that, if a person injures a police officer with a permanent injury that constitutes grievous harm, then that person should go to gaol for at least five years. And finally, Madam Speaker, subsection 9 says that a person convicted of causing grievous harm to a police officer stands to serve a maximum of 16 years in prison. This message could not be more straightforward. If you assault a police officer and you are convicted, then you will go to gaol, and that is stop, end of message. If you assault a police officer and you are convicted, you will go to gaol. And I know that this has widespread support from both individual policemen, and women as well, naturally, from the association, which called on government to do this some time ago. And, as I said at the Police Conference, I invited the members there to talk with the Police minister with a view to ascertaining what the basis and level of his objections were to such a proposal. I think I saw him leaving, so I am not sure that they had that opportunity, but no doubt the association will make representations to the minister. Madam Speaker, I note that I have 45 minutes to talk about this bill if I wish. It is very straightforward legislation. I do not believe there is anything constructively that I can add and I look forward to hearing from the Attorney-General at the next General Business day. Debate adjourned. |