Mr Marklew was performing a function of his office that night, as far as my opinion is concerned. He was entitled, if not obliged by law, to intervene when he saw you behaving aggressively at the tavern door. In my view, this makes the offence more serious.
I do not find that you punched Mr Lowe because he had assisted Mr Marklew earlier, but because he just happened to be the one who was trying to help Mr Marklew. This was a spontaneous, unpremeditated reaction to Mr Lowe's legitimate and brave efforts to help Mr Marklew.
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Assaults with weapons are potentially dangerous. This potential was realised in your attack on Mr Marklew. It is not over-dramatising the situation to say that you could have caused more serious injuries, if not death, by hitting him repeatedly in the face and head. A strong message needs to be sent to others that the community will not tolerate this sort of wanton violence.
In this case, this message must take the form of a prison sentence. People have a right to have a good night out without being attacked in this unprovoked and cowardly way. Police officers must uphold the law, and should not pay the price of doing a difficult job by being attacked in this way, and that comment relates only to Mr Marklew.
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Turning to your personal circumstances, you're 29 years of age. You were 27 at the time of these offences. Your parents separated when you were about three years of age. You then went to live [with] your maternal grandmother and step-grandfather in South Hedland. You only saw your parents during school holidays. You are still unsure as to why you were sent away from your parents and this causes you some sadness. However, your grandparents were positive influences on you, encouraging your schooling and sporting activities. You now maintain a positive relationship though with both parents.
You have a tendency to use aggression to deal with difficult situations. In Carnarvon, there is some family feuding, and you feel pressured to become involved to settle disputes. The writer of the [pre-sentence report] is of the view that this normalising of aggression to deal with difficulties, encouraged by your peers and significant others, may have contributed to your own use of violent measures in dealing with problems.
You have a relationship of two years which seems to have survived your latest spell in prison, which I'll refer to in a moment. Although you have convictions for assaulting your former partner, which most recently resulted in a suspended imprisonment order, your present relationship is not violent.
Your record does you no credit. You have convictions for assault, it would seem, as I've said, involving your partner. You were sentenced to imprisonment for assault occasioning bodily harm on 19 May 2006, for an offence which occurred in October 2005. It is reported that since your release from prison in August 2007, you have changed dramatically.
You have matured, reduced your drinking, and have positive family experiences with your partner and her 11 and 15-year-old children. You are relatively well educated. You left school in year 10 and commenced, but did not finish, a boilermaker/welder apprenticeship. Your work has included work as a station hand, and a labourer for a local seafood company. Before you were remanded in custody, you were the full-time carer of your elderly, blind grandfather, and there's a lot of material which confirms that.
You acknowledge that, in the past, you have had trouble managing your emotions and this has led to your violent behaviour. You completed counselling during your last community based order, and the completion report indicated that that particular offence for which the community based order was made was an isolated incident, and no further counselling was required. When you were in prison, you completed the Indigenous Men Managing Anger and Substance Use Program. You found this has helped you to address your excessive use of alcohol and your problems with aggression.
You appear now to have insight into triggers for your violence and are able to articulate strategies for dealing with these. Since your release from prison, you have moderated your drinking, as I've said, and you attribute your change in behaviour to the need to give priority to your grandfather. Previously, you used cannabis, but you've stopped that since your release from prison. You are an avid football player and are committed to your club. You have positive leisure activities.
Despite these changes for the better, the seriousness of your offences, particularly the one involving Mr Marklew, mean that a sentence of imprisonment to be served immediately is the appropriate and just disposition.
By way of summary, count 1 involved you attacking an unarmed man with a weapon. It was pre-meditated, sustained, and cowardly. Mr Marklew suffered serious injuries and the offence has impacted significantly on the quality of his life, apart from the pain and suffering he endured from the immediate effects of the attack. Although you only punched Mr Lowe once, the potential effects of one punch are now notoriously well known. Fortunately, that potential was not realised in this case. Mr Lowe has also suffered pain and ongoing effects from this assault.
Punishment and general deterrence loom large as sentencing factors. However, I do take into account the positive changes you have made to your life, and the sentence should not operate to extinguish the gains you have made. To do so would potentially put the community at risk.
You accept responsibility for your actions and you are very sorry for what you have done. That responsibility and remorse are borne of the time that you have had to reflect on your life when last in prison, the counselling you have received, the positive relationship you now have, and the mature and caring way you have cared for your grandfather (sentencing ts 5 - 8).