Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Grey for his question and I can tell him that there are calls for customary law to be taken into account to reduce punishment for serious and violent offences. Even the Law Council of Australia came out yesterday calling for Aboriginal customary law to be given consideration by courts and saying that proposals to exclude that were ‘misconceived, dangerous and promoted the issue ahead of more demanding social problems’. We do not agree with that. We believe that there can be no more demanding social problem than the protection of innocence, particularly of children in Aboriginal communities or, for that matter, in the white community.

I noticed in the paper today that the Chief Justice of the Northern Territory, Brian Martin, said that he had made a mistake in sentencing an Aboriginal elder to just one month’s jail for having anal sex with a 14-year-old girl. I welcome that from the Northern Territory Chief Justice. It would not have been easy for him to do, but it was absolutely right of him to acknowledge that. That matter was overturned in the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeal, which imposed a sentence of three years in relation to that crime.

Many Australians would believe that a sentence of three years for having anal sex with a 14-year-old girl and bashing her with a boomerang was still a very lenient sentence. Many Australians would think that. Many Australians would think that even that sentence by the Court of Criminal Appeal was not much of a deterrent. I would make this clear: if we are to send an unequivocal sentence to the Aboriginal community—and the white community, for that matter—that these are violent offences that will not be tolerated, we need strong support from the judiciary with strong sentences. A suggestion that cultural matters should be taken into account to lighten sentences on what are violent and serious offences will not find the support of the Australian people. We believe that there should be an unequivocal message.

In raising this issue, an issue which has now been acknowledged by the Chief Justice of the Northern Territory himself, the minister for Indigenous affairs has behaved quite courageously and properly. I notice that the Attorney-General in Western Australia has accused Mr Brough of bigotry over his statement. Nothing could be further from the truth. In a courageous way, he has raised this issue; he has determined to do something about it. He is now finding support from the Chief Justice of the Northern Territory himself. He will find the support of Australians of goodwill. We can never justify, under customary law or on any other basis, heinous and serious and violent offences. Those who do them must be brought to justice, and this government believes that they should be.

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