Making Penalties Fit the Crime !

We are fast seeing the unemployment rate reaching eight percent and the state government is looking at ways of discounting fines to bring them into each individuals ability to pay.  The vast majority of fines are for a fixed amount and apply equally to rich business people and aged pensioners despite their uneven income levels.

From this July 1, people who receive Centrelink benefits may apply to have fines reduced by half where that fine is being collected by Revenue NSW.  That will include traffic, speeding and parking fines and  for minor court matters such as stealing, offensive behavior, intoxication and disorderly conduct.   It will not apply to court ordered fines, including jury duty fines and fines ordered against body corporates.

That fine regime is somethintg set by parliament.   Whenever an individual crime increases sharply in volume the politicians seem likely to increase its severity in the belief that a penalty increase will see the convictions drop.  Fines of five hndred dollars are now common and these take no account of the ability to pay of the person fined.

In particular, we are seeing many Indigenous Australians in prison because of outstanding fines and they are more likely to be unemployed or getting a low wage than other segments of the Australian population.  Aborigines are over represented in the prison system and the inflexibility of the fine system seems to be a leading cause.

The law in Australia is something we inherited along with the first fleet and that was something that harked back to Magna Carta.   In the earlier days of merry olde England kings ruled by divine right - and they owned everything.  They could personally impose taxes if they needed money to fight a war.  The local barons had a run in with King John and they forced him tio sign Magna Carta at Runneymede and that gave many personal freedoms.  Australian law accepts Magna Carta as its base.

It seems that this fine discount is a temporary measure while we fight our way out of this Coronavirus pandemic and the recession it has caused, but our fine system is basically unfair.   The fine applies to the event and not the person applicable.  The impost of the fine can be greatly different to the spending power of individuals subject to its measure.

Now - for the first time - that imbalance is being taken into account in the collection of fines.  If ever this concession comes to an end it will be difficult to return to a regime of applying fines without regard to ability to pay.  Perhaps we are seeing a watershed in Australian law that signals a new permanency  !