I have followed, with sadness, another tragic death of a fine young man with so much potential. Matthew McLuckie was killed by a drug-affected driver travelling at an excessive speed on the wrong side of the road whilst racing another car. I’m not sure if the gutless wonder driving that other car has yet come forward or been caught.

It grieved me (having lost my son, Joe, to an ice-affected driver in January 2018) that another family would forever be affected by the selfish, senseless act of another driver.

I wholeheartedly agree with Tom McLuckie, Matt’s father, that the law in the ACT needs to be changed, and that if this occurred 10km over the border in Queanbeyan, the charges and the sentencing would be a lot different and more robust.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Mr McLuckie has requested an independent review of sentencing practices in the ACT Judiciary and considerations for legislative changes. His ACT Now For Safe Roads campaign is pushing for a national ‘sentencing guideline’, more police presence within the ACT, and a review into ‘rehabilitation’ programs for criminal offenders.]

Tom has put our legal system on notice, and I urge the DPP not to water down any charges just for the sake of getting a guilty plea. My family and I went to every court appearance by Joe’s killer. We were there to help ensure the DPP didn’t waiver. (Especially after they let a co-accused out on bail.) At least they did the right thing by Joe, and opposed bail. Indeed, when the offender sought bail, the young prosecutor got her to admit being the driver.  

My son’s killer ultimately pleaded guilty, and was given five years to serve (three non-parole) for culpable driving causing death. I believe in most other jurisdictions, she would have got more: probably about eight, serve five.

I’m not sure what, if any, charges have been laid against Matt McLuckie’s killer, but racing at excessive speed the wrong way up Hindmarsh Drive at night whilst affected by drugs may well warrant a charge of murder. It certainly shows reckless indifference to human life. In my view, manslaughter is appropriate, and carries a maximum penalty of 25 years. Culpable driving causing death only carries a maximum of 14 years.

The ACT has always had a reputation of being the weakest jurisdiction in Australia when it comes to penalties.

Tom McLuckie is right. The ACT justice system is geared towards the rights of criminals, rather than finding justice for victims and their families.

Many of the things Tom is calling for are just common sense. I’m not sure about mandatory sentencing, but there may well be a place for it with serious driving offences. If an offender affected by alcohol/drugs kills another road user whilst travelling in a reckless manner, then a mandatory minimum sentence may well be a good place to start. At the very least, we need a review of sentencing and the granting of bail. I’m happy to contribute.

For Greens Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury to reject a review out of hand shows arrogance and contempt for victims and their families, and merely perpetuates the bending-over-backward approach to criminals that left-wing politicians seem to favour. Pull him into line, Andrew Barr – you are the Chief Minister – and insist on a review.

Correction: In last week’s column by Bill Stefaniak in print (CW 28 July 2022 p10), Canberra Daily mistakenly called the late Matthew McLuckie “Luke”. (“Luke” was the late son of Rosie Batty, mentioned in our earlier story about the McLuckie tragedy.) This was an error on the part of the CW subeditor, and not Mr Stefaniak. We apologise for the error, and for any distress it may have caused.