Slade Brockman (President) Share this | Hansard source

The question is that the second reading amendment on sheet 1583 circulated by the Australian Greens be agreed to.

Australian Greens ' circulated amendment—

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate notes that:

(a) this Bill includes mandatory sentencing and presumptive minimum sentencing provisions;

(b) mandatory sentencing and presumptive minimum sentencing are a gross departure from the standard legislative approach to sentencing for criminal offences;

(c) it is the role of Parliament to provide a maximum penalty based on the relative severity of the offence, and it is the role of the courts to assess and determine the appropriate sentence in each individual case; and

(d) mandatory sentences and presumptive minimum sentences:

(i) are arbitrary,

(ii) contradict the principle of imprisonment as a last resort, and

(iii) undermine the fundamental principles of our legal system."

Question negatived.