Legislative Assembly
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ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES ............................................................................................................ 925 ALBURY LIGHT HORSE MUSEUM EXHIBITION ............................................................................ 908 ARCHBISHOP STYLIANOS FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY ................................................................ 910 ASIAN AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY SERVICES INC. ..................................................................... 912 BRIAN INMAN ....................................................................................................................................... 910 BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE .......................................................................................... 878, 894, 915, 927 CALLAN PARK SITE ............................................................................................................................. 925 CAMPBELLTOWN-CAMDEN DISTRICT CRICKET CLUB .............................................................. 909 CASINO BEEF WEEK ............................................................................................................................ 909 CENTENARY OF ANZAC ..................................................................................................................... 904 CHALDEAN AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY ................................................................................................ 912 COMMUNITY RECOGNITION STATEMENTS .................................................................................. 906 CRIMES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (CHILD SEX OFFENCES) BILL 2015 .............................. 878 CROMEHURST SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOL ....................................................................................... 910 DISTINGUISHED VISITORS ................................................................................................................. 913 DROUGHT RELIEF ................................................................................................................................ 924 ELECTRICITY NETWORK ASSETS (AUTHORISED TRANSACTIONS) BILL 2015 ............. 936, 945 ELECTRICITY PRICES .......................................................................................................................... 918 ELECTRICITY RETAINED INTEREST CORPORATIONS BILL 2015 ...................................... 936, 945 FAIR TRADING LEGISLATION (REPEAL AND AMENDMENT) BILL 2015 ................................. 942 FAIRFIELD SENIORS FESTIVAL ........................................................................................................ 912 GOVERNOR'S SPEECH: ADDRESS-IN-REPLY .................................................................................. 898 JAMBEROO RURAL FIRE SERVICE ................................................................................................... 909 KU-RING-GAI ELECTORATE SPORTING EVENTS .......................................................................... 909 LEGAL PROFESSION UNIFORM LAW APPLICATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2015893, 895 LOBBYIST CHRIS HARTCHER ........................................................................................................... 923 MEMEL .................................................................................................................................................... 920 NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK .............................................................................................. 933 NETWORKS NSW .................................................................................................................................. 915 OAK FLATS ALBION PARK GYMASTICS AND ACROBATICS CLUB ......................................... 912 PENRITH ANZAC DAY SERVICES ..................................................................................................... 906 PENRITH CITY COUNCIL SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AWARDS ........................................................ 911 PETITIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 927 QUESTION TIME ................................................................................................................................... 915 REBUILDING NSW ................................................................................................................................ 916 RED CROSS GOOD START BREAKFAST CLUB ............................................................................... 907 REDFERN LEGAL CENTRE ................................................................................................................. 908 REDFERN WATERLOO VOLUNTEER AWARDS .............................................................................. 912 REGIONAL EDUCATION...................................................................................................................... 919 REGIONAL HOSPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE ..................................................................................... 921 SERGEANT ANTHONY FOKES ........................................................................................................... 911 SHINYWAY EDUCATION GROUP ...................................................................................................... 893 SINGLETON RESIDENTS RED CROSS AWARDS ............................................................................. 911 SIR HENRY PARKES ANNIVERSARY ............................................................................................... 913 STATE HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE ................................................................................................. 929 STATUTE LAW (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) BILL 2015 ...................................................... 897 SURRY HILLS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKER .............................................................. 906 SWANSEA ANZAC DAY DAWN SERVICE ........................................................................................ 910 TAFE STUDENT RECOGNITION AWARDS ....................................................................................... 907 THE ENTRANCE SURF LIFE SAVING CLUB ANNUAL AWARDS ................................................ 909 TI TREE LAKE SACRED SITE .............................................................................................................. 907 TRIBUTE TO CAMERON JONES ......................................................................................................... 908 TRIBUTE TO DON ADAMS .................................................................................................................. 907 TRIBUTE TO MR STAN WALDEN ...................................................................................................... 911 TRIBUTE TO MRS STELLA VERNON ................................................................................................ 908 VISITORS ................................................................................................................................................ 913 878 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Wednesday 27 May 2015 __________ The Speaker (The Hon. Shelley Elizabeth Hancock) took the chair at 10.00 a.m. The Speaker read the Prayer and acknowledgement of country. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Notices of Motions General Business Notices of Motions (General Notices) given. CRIMES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (CHILD SEX OFFENCES) BILL 2015 Second Reading Debate resumed from 12 May 2015. Ms JODI McKAY (Strathfield) [10.13 a.m.]: I lead for the Opposition on the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Child Sex Offences) Bill 2015. The Opposition does not oppose the bill. That is hardly surprising given that the two proposals in this bill arise from a report of a parliamentary committee and that they were proposed to be adopted by the committee by members on this side of the House. They were proposed among other measures as an alternative to mandatory sentencing. That was a position agreed to by the entirety of the committee, except Fred Nile. There are two objects of this bill. The first is to amend section 66A of the Crimes Act so that the offence of having sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years of age is punishable by a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The second is to introduce standard non-parole periods, which are known as SNPPs, for a number of child sex offences not currently included in the scheme that was introduced in 2002. As is common ground, these proposals arise from the October 2014 report of the Joint Select Committee on Sentencing of Child Sexual Assault Offenders. The member for Liverpool was a member of that committee as was the Hon. Helen Westwood, then a member of the other place. The committee was established by former Premier O'Farrell to introduce mandatory sentencing and compulsory chemical castration for child sex offenders. This followed a tabloid media campaign. These are of course difficult and often challenging matters. In the words of the Bar Association, they are "controversial, complex and emotive". Some media outlets claim that courts are isolated from community sentiment in sentencing offenders. The implications that courts needed to be dragged into line and recalcitrant judicial officers needed to be removed or relocated are entirely antithetical to the principles of the independence of the judiciary which, together with judicial discretion, are a critical element of our system of governance. They are also inconsistent with the actual evidence of sentencing patterns. There