VICTORIA’S new one-punch laws may deter alcohol-fuelled violence but it is a reactive measure, the family of a victim says.
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Any person who kills another with one punch will face a minimum of 10 years’ jail after legislation passed through Parliament this week.
“No amount of time is going to change anything,” said Suzanne Hucker, whose son spent weeks in a medically-induced coma after an unprovoked attack during ‘schoolies’ in 2006.
“My son’s attacker got two years, and it took two years for him (her son) to physically recover,” she said.
She likened the mindless violence to road trauma, suggesting it was difficult to put an appropriate sentence on the perpetrator.
“It’s such a terrible thing for all the families concerned,” she said.
Ms Hucker said the onus was on society to curb its spiralling violence problem.
“We need to get out into schools before kids are adults, get home that it’s really serious ... it’s not like the movies when people just get up again,” she said.
“It (alcohol-fuelled violence) wasn’t as prevalent 20 years ago. We’ve gradually let it creep in and we’ve accepted it and now we’ve got this huge social problem.”
State Attorney-General Robert Clark said the new laws would apply if the death was caused by a direct punch, or by the person hitting their head as they fall.
“This new law sends a very clear message about the tragic consequences that can flow from a moment of violence. Claiming ignorance of the consequences of a single blow to the head will no longer be an excuse,” he said.
Ms Hucker said it “could mean a person loses their life and it could also mean the person throwing the punch loses theirs”.
Gang-related violence and those deliberately using weapons, like knives, during fights are targeted with the legislation.
Mr Clark said under the new laws, a person who killed another with a knife during a fight would get at least 10 years’ jail, even if the prosecution could not prove such an intent beyond reasonable doubt.
william.vallely@fairfaxmedia.com.au