Former MP's win against $40,000 fine for Facebook posts
He was the Liberal MP for Bowman, in southeast Queensland, when he posted on the "Redland Hospital: Let's fight for fair funding" Facebook page ahead of the 2019 federal election.
The posts between December 2018 and May 2019 were found to have not been properly authorised with his name and area of residence, as required for political communication by candidates.
Dr Laming was initially fined $20,000 by the Federal Court for three contraventions of federal election law.
But the Australian Electoral Commission appealed, arguing the former MP contravened the law 28 times - equal to the number of people who saw the Facebook posts.
The Full Court of the Federal Court agreed and doubled the fine to $40,000, so Dr Laming took the fight to the High Court.
On Wednesday, the court ruled the contraventions occurred when the posts were created, rather than when they were seen.
Dr Laming welcomed the decision as an end to the years-long legal tussle.
"I'm satisfied with the result and I hope it will lead to a sensible conclusion of the matter," he told AAP.
The electoral commission was ordered to pay Dr Laming's legal bill for his successful appeal to the High Court.
The commission has been contacted for comment.
Although the majority of the judges agreed, Justice James Edelman dissented and called on parliament to clarify the relevant section of the Electoral Act in relation to digital communication.
Unless an amendment was made, he said, there would be a "radical change" in the digital equivalent of the treatment of a campaigner who committed 1000 contraventions by distributing as many pamphlets.
"The political campaigner of today will commit only a single contravention by an electronic message transmitted and received by 1000, 10,000, 100,000 or 1,000,000 unique (social media) profiles," Justice Edelman wrote.
Dr Laming retired from politics in 2022 after a series of controversies, including a $10,000 travel expenses scandal.
Former Liberal MP Andrew Laming has won a High Court case against a $40,000 fine imposed over three illegal campaign messages posted on social media.
He was the Liberal MP for Bowman, in southeast Queensland, when he posted on the "Redland Hospital: Let's fight for fair funding" Facebook page ahead of the 2019 federal election.
The posts between December 2018 and May 2019 were found to have not been properly authorised with his name and area of residence, as required for political communication by candidates.
Dr Laming was initially fined $20,000 by the Federal Court for three contraventions of federal election law.
But the Australian Electoral Commission appealed, arguing the former MP contravened the law 28 times - equal to the number of people who saw the Facebook posts.
The Full Court of the Federal Court agreed and doubled the fine to $40,000, so Dr Laming took the fight to the High Court.
On Wednesday, the court ruled the contraventions occurred when the posts were created, rather than when they were seen.
Dr Laming welcomed the decision as an end to the years-long legal tussle.
"I'm satisfied with the result and I hope it will lead to a sensible conclusion of the matter," he told AAP.
The electoral commission was ordered to pay Dr Laming's legal bill for his successful appeal to the High Court.
The commission has been contacted for comment.
Although the majority of the judges agreed, Justice James Edelman dissented and called on parliament to clarify the relevant section of the Electoral Act in relation to digital communication.
Unless an amendment was made, he said, there would be a "radical change" in the digital equivalent of the treatment of a campaigner who committed 1000 contraventions by distributing as many pamphlets.
"The political campaigner of today will commit only a single contravention by an electronic message transmitted and received by 1000, 10,000, 100,000 or 1,000,000 unique (social media) profiles," Justice Edelman wrote.
Dr Laming retired from politics in 2022 after a series of controversies, including a $10,000 travel expenses scandal.
Former Liberal MP Andrew Laming has won a High Court case against a $40,000 fine imposed over three illegal campaign messages posted on social media.
He was the Liberal MP for Bowman, in southeast Queensland, when he posted on the "Redland Hospital: Let's fight for fair funding" Facebook page ahead of the 2019 federal election.
The posts between December 2018 and May 2019 were found to have not been properly authorised with his name and area of residence, as required for political communication by candidates.
Dr Laming was initially fined $20,000 by the Federal Court for three contraventions of federal election law.
But the Australian Electoral Commission appealed, arguing the former MP contravened the law 28 times - equal to the number of people who saw the Facebook posts.
The Full Court of the Federal Court agreed and doubled the fine to $40,000, so Dr Laming took the fight to the High Court.
On Wednesday, the court ruled the contraventions occurred when the posts were created, rather than when they were seen.
Dr Laming welcomed the decision as an end to the years-long legal tussle.
"I'm satisfied with the result and I hope it will lead to a sensible conclusion of the matter," he told AAP.
The electoral commission was ordered to pay Dr Laming's legal bill for his successful appeal to the High Court.
The commission has been contacted for comment.
Although the majority of the judges agreed, Justice James Edelman dissented and called on parliament to clarify the relevant section of the Electoral Act in relation to digital communication.
Unless an amendment was made, he said, there would be a "radical change" in the digital equivalent of the treatment of a campaigner who committed 1000 contraventions by distributing as many pamphlets.
"The political campaigner of today will commit only a single contravention by an electronic message transmitted and received by 1000, 10,000, 100,000 or 1,000,000 unique (social media) profiles," Justice Edelman wrote.
Dr Laming retired from politics in 2022 after a series of controversies, including a $10,000 travel expenses scandal.
Former Liberal MP Andrew Laming has won a High Court case against a $40,000 fine imposed over three illegal campaign messages posted on social media.
He was the Liberal MP for Bowman, in southeast Queensland, when he posted on the "Redland Hospital: Let's fight for fair funding" Facebook page ahead of the 2019 federal election.
The posts between December 2018 and May 2019 were found to have not been properly authorised with his name and area of residence, as required for political communication by candidates.
Dr Laming was initially fined $20,000 by the Federal Court for three contraventions of federal election law.
But the Australian Electoral Commission appealed, arguing the former MP contravened the law 28 times - equal to the number of people who saw the Facebook posts.
The Full Court of the Federal Court agreed and doubled the fine to $40,000, so Dr Laming took the fight to the High Court.
On Wednesday, the court ruled the contraventions occurred when the posts were created, rather than when they were seen.
Dr Laming welcomed the decision as an end to the years-long legal tussle.
"I'm satisfied with the result and I hope it will lead to a sensible conclusion of the matter," he told AAP.
The electoral commission was ordered to pay Dr Laming's legal bill for his successful appeal to the High Court.
The commission has been contacted for comment.
Although the majority of the judges agreed, Justice James Edelman dissented and called on parliament to clarify the relevant section of the Electoral Act in relation to digital communication.
Unless an amendment was made, he said, there would be a "radical change" in the digital equivalent of the treatment of a campaigner who committed 1000 contraventions by distributing as many pamphlets.
"The political campaigner of today will commit only a single contravention by an electronic message transmitted and received by 1000, 10,000, 100,000 or 1,000,000 unique (social media) profiles," Justice Edelman wrote.
Dr Laming retired from politics in 2022 after a series of controversies, including a $10,000 travel expenses scandal.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
44 minutes ago
- Herald Sun
Steve Price: Brad Battin needs to show some Jeff Kennett showmanship
Filling in on 3AW back in the early 1990s I upset Premier Jeff Kennett so badly he stormed into my office and demanded an apology. My crime was replacing Kennett, on air, with Opposition Leader John Brumby. Jeffrey was on holiday but guarded his regular weekday half-hour spot on the Neil Mitchell show like it was one of his children. The Premier was a lot more volatile back then, during his eight-year reign in the top job, and to say we almost came to blows is not an exaggeration. The pair of us have laughed about it subsequently. He was also, prior to defeating Labor's Joan Kirner in 1992 as Victoria wore the 'rust-bucket state' tag, an exceptional Opposition Leader. John Cain Jr, the predecessor to Kirner, and Labor had driven Victoria into the ground and Victorians were fleeing in great numbers to places like Queensland. Back then the Herald Sun ran a page one that was just black, signifying how bad things had got in the state. Basically, a funeral notice. Kennett was like a dog attacking a bone and he was a daily presence in media whether it was on AW with Mitchell, arguing with the ABC or shovelling dirt at journalists when he finally became premier. Hardly a night passed without Kennett appearing on the nightly news. Kennett was a showman admired and despised in equal parts. Compare that brand of retail politics from a career advertising man with the bland versions of Opposition Leaders Victoria has had to endure through the tortured decade of Labor leaders Daniel Andrews and now Jacinta Allan. Think about this — the Victorian Liberals have been through Matthew Guy twice, Michael O'Brien, John Pesutto and now Brad Battin. Talk about navel gazing and self-destruction. Surely it can't be that hard to find a suitably aggressive, media friendly alternative to two of the most despised political leaders we have ever experienced. It hasn't happened and as steady a hand as he has been, Brad Battin is just not cutting through. Let me prosecute the case that it's not entirely Battin's fault. I'm currently presenting the Peta Credlin Sky News TV program five days a week for five weeks. This week we contacted the Opposition Leader's office to request a live on-air chat about a loosening of the laws around self-protection if someone breaks into your house in the middle of the night armed with a machete. The response from his media team was to suggest we talk instead with David Limbrick of the Libertarian Party. Offered a prime-time spot to prosecute the case that Premier Allan was ruling over a state of lawlessness so bad that people were arguing we should be able to arm ourselves with baseball bats and fight back, instead we were pushed towards an Independent, not even a Liberal. This was not an isolated case, indeed last week we asked the same office to interview Battin about Jacinta Allan's vote grabbing delusion that she would legislate to make it law you can work from home two days a week. Same response. Sorry, Brad's not available. I was prompted to check when the last time Victoria's Opposition Leader had appeared on Sky's top rating four day a week Credlin show and found, according to our records, it was five weeks ago. I present the Friday version of Credlin and can't remember the last time he appeared with me either. Now Battin and his team can choose to appear in the media and with whomever they choose. But to suggest he has a high profile as Opposition Leader is ludicrous. Most Victorians would struggle to even name him. It's a problem the conservative side of politics, both state and federal, struggle with. The NSW Liberal Opposition leader is a bloke called Mark Speakman who as late as this week was facing a leadership challenge over a net-zero bungle. In South Australia a bloke even I have never heard of leads the Liberals – Vincent Tarzia. Vincent took over after former leader David Speirs was forced to resign after pleading guilty to two drug charges and a video showed him snorting a substance from a plate. The best known Liberal Opposition leader in Australia would be WA's Basil Zempilas, who has been in the job five months. Basil, of course, is best known for his football commentary on the Seven Network not for his politics and he leads a team of just seven members of the lower house. Then of course we have the newly minted Federal Liberal leader Sussan Ley who when a poll was taken to identify who she was by showing members of the public a photograph of her, not one person knew who she was. One thought she was Gina Rinehart another a bank executive and to be fair not everyone knew who even Anthony Albanese was. Liberals around the country are searching for leaders that can connect with wider Australia. Ley deserves her shot at the top job and given the Coalition will be in Opposition for the next four years she has plenty of time to get known. Brad Battin doesn't have the luxury of time with a state election just 14 months away and Victorians deserve better than an alternative Premier being hidden away. Unlike most state and federal politicians, he has a work history as an ex-police officer and prison guard – ideal for prosecuting the case in a lawless state overrun by violent crime. Someone needs to tell him to accept every media opportunity offered to him. He should take a leaf out of Kennett's playbook where he insisted on live in-person interviews so he couldn't be edited. Victoria had and still has a love-hate relationship with our most successful recent Liberal Premier, but one thing is for sure you couldn't ignore him. So, media savvy was he that after being confronted by a barbecue wielding union protester out the front of the old AW studios in Bank St he made one more big demand. He asked us to install a landline into his office to conduct live interviews from there. We did it only to regret the decision as Jeff kept dialling in to go on air like some sort of media commentator. At least Victorians knew who he was. Dislikes • Convicted drug and gun criminal Snoop Dogg as the Grand Final entertainment – how does that fit the AFL's family image. • Anthony Albanese promising to recognise a Palestinian State. • Cowardly masked neo-Nazis marching through Melbourne in the dead of night. • ACTU pushing for a four-day week at Canberra's economic roundtable next week. Likes • Reserve Bank cut interest rates for the third time this year. • EV drivers look like being slugged a road user tax – about time. • Ageless Magpie Scott Pendlebury at age 37 going around next year. • Donald Trump doing what our leaders should do cleaning up Washington DC of homeless criminals and drug dealers. Steve Price Saturday Herald Sun columnist Melbourne media personality Steve Price writes a weekly column in the Saturday Herald Sun.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Hidden issue fueling Aussie crisis
Jim Chalmers says it's 'not surprising' Australia's birth rate has slowed given the 'financial pressures' on families, however, he has rejected calls to bring back the Costello-era $3000 baby bonus in favour of 'better, more enduring ways to support parents'. The comments come ahead of Labor's highly anticipated Economic Reform Roundtable, which will bring business and unions groups to Canberra for three days of intensive discussions on how to lift Australia's sluggish productivity rate. 'It's not surprising that the birth rate has slowed given the pressures on people, including financial pressures,' he told NewsWire. 'We want to make it easier for them to make that choice. If they want to have more kids, we want to make it easier for them to do that, and that's what motivates a lot of our changes.' NED-14018-How-Australias-birth-rate-has-fallen However, as Australia struggles to boost the economy, and in turn raise wages and living standards, it's also contending with a sluggish birth rate of 1.5 births per woman, which is under the 2.1 figure needed to sustain population growth. Boosting productivity was also essential to ensuring that Australia's ageing population could weather economic headwinds, the Treasurer said. 'Now, the reason why the productivity challenge is important to this is because our society is ageing, and over time, there will be fewer workers for every person who's retired,' he said. 'We need to make sure that our economy is as productive as it can be, as strong as it can be to withstand that demographic change, which is going to be big and consequential.' Treasurer Jim Chalmers said boosting productivity was essential to help Australia weather an ageing population. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Chalmers also spurned calls from former Liberal prime minister John Howard to resurrect the $3000 baby bonus cash incentive bought in by his treasurer Peter Costello in 2004. The Queenslander's parliamentary colleagues have advocated for other measures to spur a baby boom, including Nationals senator Matt Canavan's proposed $100,000 loans for first-time parents to buy their first home. Parliament's maverick father of the house Bob Katter also proposed incoming splitting for parents so they paid less overall tax. For example, a household where two parents earn a combined income of $150,000 pays about $10,000 less tax than a household with a single worker pulling in $150,000. Instead, Mr Chalmers said Labor's supports were 'more enduring,' pointing to policies like guaranteeing three days of subsidised child care for families earning less than $533,280, increasing paid parental leave to 25 weeks, and paying super on government-funded parental leave to tackle the gender superannuation gap. The decline in birth rate. Source: Supplied Credit: Supplied 'That policy from a couple of decades ago was a one-off payment, and we found ways to support parents which is meaningful and enduring, not one off. That's the main difference,' he said. 'Our political opponents … haven't said how they would fund that, how they would pay for that, whereas we've been carefully budgeting all this help for parents in our budgets and providing that in an ongoing way. 'We're always in the market for ideas about ways to support families. We've got all this cost-of-living help rolling out, (like) all the childcare changes. All of that, I think, demonstrate a willingness on our part to support families (in making) decisions about whether they want to have kids or have more kids.' Mr Chalmers says the 'generational anxiety' plaguing Australia youth simultaneously contending with rising house prices and inflation will also be a touchstone ahead of the economic reform roundtable, which at one point was called the productivity roundtable before it was quietly changed. He concedes productivity can 'sound like a cold lifeless piece of economic jargon' but explains the metric is 'about efficiency' and 'about how we make our economy stronger to deliver for more people so that they can earn more and get ahead and be better off'. Australia's birthrate has fallen below the 2.1 births needed to sustain Australia's population. Jason Edwards/ NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Generational equality has also fuelled some of the roundtable's more controversial submissions, including the Australian Council of Trade Unions' call to limit negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions on just one property by the next five years, and teal Wentworth MP Allegra Spender's overhaul of the tax system that she says is overly reliant on income taxes. The ACTU has also reiterated calls for a four-day work week, while the Productivity Commission irked business bodies with calls for a new 5 per cent cash flow tax and a road user charge to ensure EV drivers, who skip the fuel excise, also contribute to road upgrades. How to best handle the opportunities posed by artificial intelligence, while mitigating the risks and job losses, will also be debated on day two; however, Mr Chalmers is quietly optimistic. 'I think one of the big challenges, broadly, but especially for young people, is how they adapt and adopt technology, so a big focus will be how do we skill people up to use artificial intelligence so that it's it works for them, not against them, particularly in the workplace,' he said. Mr Chalmers will use talks to create consensus on what he says is the 'most transformative influence on our economy and our lifetime', and while he doesn't want to pre-empt decisions, education settings and regulation will likely be immediate action points once talks end on Thursday. '(AI) has to change the way we think about skills and capabilities, and I'll work closely with colleagues in the education portfolios, the industry portfolio and elsewhere to make sure that we've got the settings right,' he said. 'Whether it's regulation, whether it's education, in a whole bunch of areas, governments have to catch up and keep up with the accelerating pace of technological change.'
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Family 'broken' by teen killer's sentence reduction
The family of a woman murdered during a home invasion have been left "broken" by the teen killer's sentence being reduced by almost 18 months on appeal. The boy, who cannot be named as he was aged 17 at the time of the offences, fatally stabbed Emma Lovell in the heart after he broke into her family's house north of Brisbane about 11.30pm on Boxing Day in 2022. Following a successful appeal on Friday, the teen will now serve a minimum of about eight years and four months in detention instead of about nine years and nine months before he is released under supervision. Victims of youth crime ambassador Lyndy Atkinson, who had worked with the Lovells since before the original sentencing, said the family now felt additional trauma. "They are a broken family ... (the teen defendant) will be able to get out and live his best life," she said. "Lee Lovell has lost a wife, his two girls have lost a mother. To me, it is still on the side of the offender and victims are continually being left behind." Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the appeal was an unacceptable outcome and claimed it was caused by the previous Labor government's "weak laws". "I am now looking at my options to make an appeal to the High Court," she said. Queensland opposition leader Steven Miles said he did not want to "score cheap political points" but was shocked by the decision and thinking of the family. Mrs Lovell's husband Lee, who was wounded during the home invasion, was unable to attend court on Friday when the appeal decision was handed down. The home invasion led to "adult crime, adult time"' changes in Queensland law that allow for youth offenders to face a mandatory life sentence for murder with a minimum 20 years before parole. "The murder of Emma Lovell rocked the state and Queenslanders made it very clear enough is enough and change needed to occur," Ms Frecklington said. "The community and Emma's family will be devastated by this outcome and our thoughts are with them on another very difficult day they should never have had to endure." Justice Tom Sullivan in May 2024 sentenced the teen, then aged 19, to a maximum of 14 years with a requirement to serve 70 per cent of that time in detention, after he found the crime to be "particularly heinous". The Court of Appeal on Friday allowed the teen's appeal against the length of his sentence, with two of the three judges agreeing it was "manifestly excessive". In his dissenting opinion, Justice John Bond stated he was "respectfully" not able to find the sentence unjust or plainly unreasonable. Justice David Boddice found the 14-year sentence should stand but reduced the detention period to 60 per cent. He cited the teen's guilty plea, "genuine remorse and prospects of rehabilitation" as special circumstances justifying his release from detention after serving less than the statutory 70 per cent. The teen had appealed Justice Sullivan's "particularly heinous" finding in a bid to get his overall sentence reduced to 10 years. However, Justice Boddice found Justice Sullivan's decision to impose the maximum overall sentence available at the time was correct as the offences were "properly described as provoking a sense of outrage". The teen now has five years left to serve in detention after 500 days of pre-sentence custody in May 2024 were recognised as time served. The teen's male co-offender, also a juvenile, was acquitted of murder at a judge-only trial in October. He was found guilty of burglary and assaulting Mr Lovell, and in December he was sentenced to 18 months' detention - time he has served. The family of a woman murdered during a home invasion have been left "broken" by the teen killer's sentence being reduced by almost 18 months on appeal. The boy, who cannot be named as he was aged 17 at the time of the offences, fatally stabbed Emma Lovell in the heart after he broke into her family's house north of Brisbane about 11.30pm on Boxing Day in 2022. Following a successful appeal on Friday, the teen will now serve a minimum of about eight years and four months in detention instead of about nine years and nine months before he is released under supervision. Victims of youth crime ambassador Lyndy Atkinson, who had worked with the Lovells since before the original sentencing, said the family now felt additional trauma. "They are a broken family ... (the teen defendant) will be able to get out and live his best life," she said. "Lee Lovell has lost a wife, his two girls have lost a mother. To me, it is still on the side of the offender and victims are continually being left behind." Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the appeal was an unacceptable outcome and claimed it was caused by the previous Labor government's "weak laws". "I am now looking at my options to make an appeal to the High Court," she said. Queensland opposition leader Steven Miles said he did not want to "score cheap political points" but was shocked by the decision and thinking of the family. Mrs Lovell's husband Lee, who was wounded during the home invasion, was unable to attend court on Friday when the appeal decision was handed down. The home invasion led to "adult crime, adult time"' changes in Queensland law that allow for youth offenders to face a mandatory life sentence for murder with a minimum 20 years before parole. "The murder of Emma Lovell rocked the state and Queenslanders made it very clear enough is enough and change needed to occur," Ms Frecklington said. "The community and Emma's family will be devastated by this outcome and our thoughts are with them on another very difficult day they should never have had to endure." Justice Tom Sullivan in May 2024 sentenced the teen, then aged 19, to a maximum of 14 years with a requirement to serve 70 per cent of that time in detention, after he found the crime to be "particularly heinous". The Court of Appeal on Friday allowed the teen's appeal against the length of his sentence, with two of the three judges agreeing it was "manifestly excessive". In his dissenting opinion, Justice John Bond stated he was "respectfully" not able to find the sentence unjust or plainly unreasonable. Justice David Boddice found the 14-year sentence should stand but reduced the detention period to 60 per cent. He cited the teen's guilty plea, "genuine remorse and prospects of rehabilitation" as special circumstances justifying his release from detention after serving less than the statutory 70 per cent. The teen had appealed Justice Sullivan's "particularly heinous" finding in a bid to get his overall sentence reduced to 10 years. However, Justice Boddice found Justice Sullivan's decision to impose the maximum overall sentence available at the time was correct as the offences were "properly described as provoking a sense of outrage". The teen now has five years left to serve in detention after 500 days of pre-sentence custody in May 2024 were recognised as time served. The teen's male co-offender, also a juvenile, was acquitted of murder at a judge-only trial in October. He was found guilty of burglary and assaulting Mr Lovell, and in December he was sentenced to 18 months' detention - time he has served. The family of a woman murdered during a home invasion have been left "broken" by the teen killer's sentence being reduced by almost 18 months on appeal. The boy, who cannot be named as he was aged 17 at the time of the offences, fatally stabbed Emma Lovell in the heart after he broke into her family's house north of Brisbane about 11.30pm on Boxing Day in 2022. Following a successful appeal on Friday, the teen will now serve a minimum of about eight years and four months in detention instead of about nine years and nine months before he is released under supervision. Victims of youth crime ambassador Lyndy Atkinson, who had worked with the Lovells since before the original sentencing, said the family now felt additional trauma. "They are a broken family ... (the teen defendant) will be able to get out and live his best life," she said. "Lee Lovell has lost a wife, his two girls have lost a mother. To me, it is still on the side of the offender and victims are continually being left behind." Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the appeal was an unacceptable outcome and claimed it was caused by the previous Labor government's "weak laws". "I am now looking at my options to make an appeal to the High Court," she said. Queensland opposition leader Steven Miles said he did not want to "score cheap political points" but was shocked by the decision and thinking of the family. Mrs Lovell's husband Lee, who was wounded during the home invasion, was unable to attend court on Friday when the appeal decision was handed down. The home invasion led to "adult crime, adult time"' changes in Queensland law that allow for youth offenders to face a mandatory life sentence for murder with a minimum 20 years before parole. "The murder of Emma Lovell rocked the state and Queenslanders made it very clear enough is enough and change needed to occur," Ms Frecklington said. "The community and Emma's family will be devastated by this outcome and our thoughts are with them on another very difficult day they should never have had to endure." Justice Tom Sullivan in May 2024 sentenced the teen, then aged 19, to a maximum of 14 years with a requirement to serve 70 per cent of that time in detention, after he found the crime to be "particularly heinous". The Court of Appeal on Friday allowed the teen's appeal against the length of his sentence, with two of the three judges agreeing it was "manifestly excessive". In his dissenting opinion, Justice John Bond stated he was "respectfully" not able to find the sentence unjust or plainly unreasonable. Justice David Boddice found the 14-year sentence should stand but reduced the detention period to 60 per cent. He cited the teen's guilty plea, "genuine remorse and prospects of rehabilitation" as special circumstances justifying his release from detention after serving less than the statutory 70 per cent. The teen had appealed Justice Sullivan's "particularly heinous" finding in a bid to get his overall sentence reduced to 10 years. However, Justice Boddice found Justice Sullivan's decision to impose the maximum overall sentence available at the time was correct as the offences were "properly described as provoking a sense of outrage". The teen now has five years left to serve in detention after 500 days of pre-sentence custody in May 2024 were recognised as time served. The teen's male co-offender, also a juvenile, was acquitted of murder at a judge-only trial in October. He was found guilty of burglary and assaulting Mr Lovell, and in December he was sentenced to 18 months' detention - time he has served. The family of a woman murdered during a home invasion have been left "broken" by the teen killer's sentence being reduced by almost 18 months on appeal. The boy, who cannot be named as he was aged 17 at the time of the offences, fatally stabbed Emma Lovell in the heart after he broke into her family's house north of Brisbane about 11.30pm on Boxing Day in 2022. Following a successful appeal on Friday, the teen will now serve a minimum of about eight years and four months in detention instead of about nine years and nine months before he is released under supervision. Victims of youth crime ambassador Lyndy Atkinson, who had worked with the Lovells since before the original sentencing, said the family now felt additional trauma. "They are a broken family ... (the teen defendant) will be able to get out and live his best life," she said. "Lee Lovell has lost a wife, his two girls have lost a mother. To me, it is still on the side of the offender and victims are continually being left behind." Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the appeal was an unacceptable outcome and claimed it was caused by the previous Labor government's "weak laws". "I am now looking at my options to make an appeal to the High Court," she said. Queensland opposition leader Steven Miles said he did not want to "score cheap political points" but was shocked by the decision and thinking of the family. Mrs Lovell's husband Lee, who was wounded during the home invasion, was unable to attend court on Friday when the appeal decision was handed down. The home invasion led to "adult crime, adult time"' changes in Queensland law that allow for youth offenders to face a mandatory life sentence for murder with a minimum 20 years before parole. "The murder of Emma Lovell rocked the state and Queenslanders made it very clear enough is enough and change needed to occur," Ms Frecklington said. "The community and Emma's family will be devastated by this outcome and our thoughts are with them on another very difficult day they should never have had to endure." Justice Tom Sullivan in May 2024 sentenced the teen, then aged 19, to a maximum of 14 years with a requirement to serve 70 per cent of that time in detention, after he found the crime to be "particularly heinous". The Court of Appeal on Friday allowed the teen's appeal against the length of his sentence, with two of the three judges agreeing it was "manifestly excessive". In his dissenting opinion, Justice John Bond stated he was "respectfully" not able to find the sentence unjust or plainly unreasonable. Justice David Boddice found the 14-year sentence should stand but reduced the detention period to 60 per cent. He cited the teen's guilty plea, "genuine remorse and prospects of rehabilitation" as special circumstances justifying his release from detention after serving less than the statutory 70 per cent. The teen had appealed Justice Sullivan's "particularly heinous" finding in a bid to get his overall sentence reduced to 10 years. However, Justice Boddice found Justice Sullivan's decision to impose the maximum overall sentence available at the time was correct as the offences were "properly described as provoking a sense of outrage". The teen now has five years left to serve in detention after 500 days of pre-sentence custody in May 2024 were recognised as time served. The teen's male co-offender, also a juvenile, was acquitted of murder at a judge-only trial in October. He was found guilty of burglary and assaulting Mr Lovell, and in December he was sentenced to 18 months' detention - time he has served.
