Hon Nick Goiran questions the Premier's prior comment on the Reagan Chown manslaughter sentence, citing perceived inconsistency with the government's stance on judicial independence.

AnsweredQoN 568Legislative Council
Asked
10 September 2025
Portfolio
Premier

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the case of Reagan Ainsley Chown, who was imprisoned for 15 years and six months for manslaughter, the manslaughter of Constable Anthony Woods, and to the Government’s response to my question “what is the sentence the Government says should apply in cases involving the death of a police officer?”, which is “The government is independent of the judiciary and it would be inappropriate to answer this question”, and I ask: (a) why then is the Premier on record as having said that the sentence seems like a drastically short period of time?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
14 October 2025
Responded by
Leader of the House representing the Premier
Response time
5 days
For the Member's benefit, the Premier's statement which the Member has selectively quoted from July 3 was: "I'll leave it up to the courts to judge in relation to the sentence. It seems like a drastically short period of time, but I know they take into account the full set of circumstances."

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