00:00I'm not a lock-em-up and throw away the key advocate. I never have been, but I do think, and I make no apologies, if you commit serious crime, there's no bigger crime than taking another person's life, and you should actually face punishment. So I'm quite comfortable with what was decided to do. I do expect the defence will appeal, which is the right, but I'm very happy to get you.
00:20Tom, how do you feel?
00:24Relieved. That's been the biggest emotion. There's no winners in this situation today. The Matthew's not coming back. I think the Chief Justice and their ruling obviously reflected the horrendous crime that took place by giving the Matthew as a high sentence.
00:44If you do have a priesthood set, even if you drive like that, you're not going to get slapped in the wrist or a couple of years in jail, but you will do some serious prison thing.
00:54And were you surprised when she imposed the maximum? Were you expecting it to be something less?
01:02Well, if I was, I thought, maybe because on her technicality, she felt guilty, she didn't have got a discount.
01:07Of course, the Chief Justice has looked at legislation that covers discounts and ruled the details of the case and the likelihood of a strong prosecution case.
01:18She didn't believe it was applicable. She applied that discount purely to the...
01:24What do you make of the comments that the Chief Justice made that, especially given Shakira was taking drugs still while on bail, that she is more of a danger now to society than even she was at the time?
01:37That has been her concern and I think there should be some review of the original bail condition she's got, which had no restrictions really apart from, you know, not leaving her territory, not driving, and she never held her license.
01:50We were aware because Cameron's a small community, even when she came back to the mental health head injury unit at the University of Canberra Hospital, she was taking drugs.
02:00That was reported from the police, and they were called there multiple types. And then, obviously, she has been taking drugs in her, uh, supported care arrangement, to an extent that the care...
02:10Carers were given liberty to not provide her to inform the civil care, because she was back in with the same, I suppose, crowd, the same associates, and they were doing drugs at the care homes.
02:21So, yeah, I think she is a danger. That was always her concern. There was nothing stopping her getting back in the car and doing what she did again.
02:29Particularly now, she's got even more lightly. She's totally disinhibited now, and I think she does remain a present danger to the rest of the community.
02:39Throughout the course of this, you've been a pretty loud advocate for things to change in the ACT.
02:45From what you've seen today compared to when this all started, do you have a bit of that confidence in the justice system back?
02:52I, firstly, I'm surprised. Absolutely. I think the justice decision is not only correct, but I think it sets a precedent for these kind of crimes.
03:02We've seen people, you know, they're firm guilty of a couple of driving, which are, you think, one or two years in prison.
03:09Um, I think what she's done today is to do for the objective seriousness of the cases such are so appallingly bad,
03:15you will actually do a significant prison term in acting.
03:18I'm not, I'm not a lock-em-up, sorry, the key advocate. I never have been, but I do think, and I make no apologies,
03:24if you commit serious crime, there's no bigger crime than taking another person's life,
03:29and you should actually face punishment. So, so I'm quite comfortable with what was decided today.
03:34I do expect the defence will appeal, which is the right, but I'm a very happy contingent.
03:40How will you move on from this now?
03:43I don't know if you can. That's the challenge. Um, every day is a challenge. You think about that all the time.
03:50Um, you know, Christmases, birthdays, Thursday nights, Friday mornings, um, you know, it's very, very difficult to move on.
03:59And, you know, if I've been wished all the best of my recovery in the past, I don't know what kind of recovery
04:05people think they're going to have, because, um, I'm never going to wake up and be at ease with what happened to my son.
04:11I never will. And, um, I will always remember him. He's never here now. That's the biggest, um, this, you know,
04:18we've gone into Christmas, and it'll be a place that everyone's craving for Marty, you guys. You know, he should be here today.
04:24I wish I'd never been in his course, ever. So, I don't know if you do move on, but,
04:29be cool.
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