as posted here
The Court of Appeal in Perth has upheld the sentence of a drink driver who accidentally killed a child when his car spun out of control.
Benjamin Butler, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving over the death of 11-month-old Grace Moorby.
The baby was being pushed in a pram by her mother when Butler crashed into the front yard of their home in Thornlie in April 2008.
He was sentenced to three years and eight months' jail.
Prosecutors appealed the jail term, arguing it should be increased by 10 months.
But two of the three appeal judges today ruled the sentence was appropriate.
Butler will be eligible for parole next year.
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Thursday, 25 June 2009
Baby Grace's killer wins appeal
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The State has lost its appeal for a tougher sentence against drunk driver Benjamin Butler, who killed baby Grace Moorby and injured her mother Tania in front of their Thornlie house.
Butler's speeding car clipped one of two vehicles he was trying to overtake on a Thornlie street in April last year.
His car then mounted a kerb and became airborne before landing in the front garden of a house where Tania Moorby was wheeling her daughter in a pram after coming home from the shops.
The force of the collision flung Mrs Moorby into her neighbour's garden and sent debris flying on to the roof.
Grace was hit and landed on the front porch. She died at the scene.
Butler, 25, who had a blood alcohol reading of 0.166 on the day, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of baby Grace and dangerous driving causing bodily harm to Mrs Moorby.
He was jailed in November last year for 44 months and he could be eligible for parole after serving half the term.
The Director of Public Prosecutions had sought to increase the sentence, arguing that the case was at the "upper end of seriousness" but the sentence handed down was at the bottom end of the range.
The maximum sentence for such an offence was 20 years.
The appeal was today defeated by a 2-1 majority.
One judge hoped to increase the jail term to 4 years and 10 months, but he was overruled by his two colleagues who dismissed the appeal.
as posted here
The State has lost its appeal for a tougher sentence against drunk driver Benjamin Butler, who killed baby Grace Moorby and injured her mother Tania in front of their Thornlie house.
Butler's speeding car clipped one of two vehicles he was trying to overtake on a Thornlie street in April last year.
His car then mounted a kerb and became airborne before landing in the front garden of a house where Tania Moorby was wheeling her daughter in a pram after coming home from the shops.
The force of the collision flung Mrs Moorby into her neighbour's garden and sent debris flying on to the roof.
Grace was hit and landed on the front porch. She died at the scene.
Butler, 25, who had a blood alcohol reading of 0.166 on the day, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of baby Grace and dangerous driving causing bodily harm to Mrs Moorby.
He was jailed in November last year for 44 months and he could be eligible for parole after serving half the term.
The Director of Public Prosecutions had sought to increase the sentence, arguing that the case was at the "upper end of seriousness" but the sentence handed down was at the bottom end of the range.
The maximum sentence for such an offence was 20 years.
The appeal was today defeated by a 2-1 majority.
One judge hoped to increase the jail term to 4 years and 10 months, but he was overruled by his two colleagues who dismissed the appeal.
as posted here
Monday, 22 June 2009
Regional councils spark most complaints
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Regional councils are the most complained about in WA, with Shark Bay, Busselton and York sparking 63 investigations between them by the Department of Local Government in the past year.
Information provided to The West Australian under freedom of information reveals that the Shire of Shark Bay, which is the subject of an inquiry by the department, topped the list with 31 complaints.
Of those, five were upheld on matters relating to the actions of elected members and employees.
Busselton Shire Council, which has been in the spotlight over the Smiths Beach development, triggered 19 investigations by the department over allegations of improper use of information to gain advantage or cause detriment, securing personal disadvantage and relations with local government employees. However, none was related to Smiths Beach.
Six of the complaints have yet to be settled, while the shire got one warning and advice on three occasions.
The Shire of York recorded three black marks from 13 complaints, mainly against breaches of financial disclosures.
Gosnells and Cambridge attracted 13 complaints each. Of these, the department upheld three for Cambridge and six for Gosnells, including a referral to another agency.
BEATRICE THOMAS
as posted here
Regional councils are the most complained about in WA, with Shark Bay, Busselton and York sparking 63 investigations between them by the Department of Local Government in the past year.
Information provided to The West Australian under freedom of information reveals that the Shire of Shark Bay, which is the subject of an inquiry by the department, topped the list with 31 complaints.
Of those, five were upheld on matters relating to the actions of elected members and employees.
Busselton Shire Council, which has been in the spotlight over the Smiths Beach development, triggered 19 investigations by the department over allegations of improper use of information to gain advantage or cause detriment, securing personal disadvantage and relations with local government employees. However, none was related to Smiths Beach.
Six of the complaints have yet to be settled, while the shire got one warning and advice on three occasions.
The Shire of York recorded three black marks from 13 complaints, mainly against breaches of financial disclosures.
Gosnells and Cambridge attracted 13 complaints each. Of these, the department upheld three for Cambridge and six for Gosnells, including a referral to another agency.
BEATRICE THOMAS
as posted here
Sunday, 21 June 2009
$250 fines for industrial pollution branded 'pathetic'
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THREE Maddington firms have escaped with a $250 fine for polluting 800m of a brook, which has outraged a land-care group.
The companies were fined this week after a large oil spill coated 800m of Bickley Brook.
The companies, which service mining equipment, can choose to pay the fine or challenge it in court, where they would face penalties up to $5000.
The Department of Environment and Conservation issued the fines, but refused to name the companies.
Toxic sludge was spotted by members of the South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare, who claim waste from nearby companies often finds its way into the brook.
They branded the fines as pathetic.
``If we went down there (to Bickley Brook) in any flash rain event, we would pick up major contamination because the companies are not forced to clean up,'' said SERCUL regional director Julie Roberts.
``Through that area you can't get access, so if there are dead animals in there you would just never know.''
DEC environmental hazards manager Ken Raine said one of the companies fined this week had been issued with a caution for the same offence just months before.
He said while the fines were small the clean-up costs were the big deterrent.
Mrs Roberts claimed the council should be doing more.
City of Gosnells governance director Trevor Perkins said: ``The ... site is one sampling site that has been identified as a consistent pollution hot spot.
``The identification of other premises which may contribute pollutants is difficult due to the number of businesses whose stormwater drainage discharges at that point of the brook.
``The City of Gosnells, in partnership with SERCUL, is in the process of developing a strategy for identifying and addressing those point sources, with a view to working with DEC on resolving the problem.''
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