AG Greg Smith's speech to Public Defender's Conference

Speech by Greg Smith SC MP, Attorney General and Minister for Justice to 

open the Public Defender’s Conference, Saturday 24 March 2012 at Taronga 

Park Zoo Conference Centre. 

This Monday marks the first anniversary of the election of the O'Farrell Government.  

For the past week we have had the pleasure of getting up at 5.30 and going out to 

railway stations handing out  little cards telling people what good things we’ve done 

and they are saying: what’s up?, Is there an election on? But we have had a very 

good reception. 

I am pleased to say the firm agenda I set in opposition – with the backing of the 

Coalition –which was that there would be no law and order auction at the last 

election, has been honoured by us. And I think Labor was becoming weary of it. 

They didn’t try to counter with a one sided auction – no grid sentencing, or more 

maximum life sentences, no extra aggravated offences, no standard non parole 

periods – which had coloured the previous 20 years of elections. 

Unlike previous governments, our State plan does not demand a certain number of 

arrests or prisoners. Take section 22A of the Bail Act; it allowed only one application 

for bail and had a particular impact on young people - especially for those who 

breached curfews. There are now are 150 people a week in juvenile detention 

centres who will never receive a custodial sentence. 

I promised we would open a second metropolitan drug court – I expect that will up 

and running in May – and the first intensive drug treatment facility in a NSW jail. We 

have done that at the John Morony complex at Windsor. In late February the first 62 

prisoners started and within two years I hope we have 300 prisoners – 250 men, 50 

women - undergoing treatment that will last for about six months. They will be linking 

up with the non-government organisations after their release so they can continue 

their treatment. 

Drug addiction can be a lifelong struggle and my hope is that this program will help a 

lot of people to turn their lives around and make a positive contribution to the 

community. If they can get off the drugs, get a job, get somewhere to live and help – 

 rather than just being thrown into jail and let out with the same problems – it will be 

better for the community. We will have more citizens who might have been 

permanent criminals going straight and the community will be safer. And hopefully 

the perceptions of safety will increase because that is one of our big problems. 

Fanned by publicity and sensation, there is a perception out in the suburbs of 

Sydney that it’s dangerous out there, in the night, even in the day.   

NSW Opposition aims for drive-by 'silver bullet'

ABC Online | 31 August 2011

A spate of drive-by shootings in Sydney has prompted the New South Wales Opposition to push for increased penalties. In the latest incident, on Monday night, two cars exchanged at least a dozen shots at an intersection in Greenacre, in the city's west. Two stray bullets hit the front of a house while a family was inside.

There have been at least 10 shooting incidents over the past few weeks alone. Police believe many of the incidents are linked.

Opposition Leader John Robertson says there is currently no specific offence for firing from a car, despite the high risk of someone being injured or killed.

"Unless an offender kills or seriously injures a person in a drive-by shooting, they're typically charged with the offence of fire at a dwelling," Mr Robertson said.

"This at the moment is only delivering sentences of four and half years, and for first time offenders the most likely penalty is a suspended sentence.

"We're suggesting that the Attorney-General ask the (NSW) Sentencing Council to increase the penalties for all drive-by shooting related offences and introduce a specific offence to deal with this crime category.

"What we're seeing is the people of western Sydney feeling unsafe. They have a right to feel safe in their homes."

Attorney-General Greg Smith has poured cold water on the call, though he says the Government is reviewing crime penalties.

"The Opposition, when they were in government, all they thought was to increase penalties, that would cure problems," Mr Smith said.

"It cured nothing. In fact it created greater recidivism, enormous increases in population in prisons.

"It's much cleverer to find what's causing this. This is what the police have got to do, they've got to get to the bottom of the war that's going on."

Meanwhile, police believe they have found the second car involved in Monday's shooting. An abandoned Audi was discovered with bullet holes in it at Sydenham yesterday afternoon. A stolen four-wheel drive thought to be the other vehicle used was found burnt out at Wiley Park soon after the shots were fired.