Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Nash for a very important question on something which is vital to all Australians, and that deals with the question of law and order. At the last election we undertook to review penalties in relation to Commonwealth offences. Last week I announced that review and it dovetails with a review undertaken by the Australian Law Reform Commission in relation to sentencing. While I am on my feet, I just want to make a correction. The review that I announced was not necessary because of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s review of sentencing. This is something completely different. It is looking at whether we at the Commonwealth level have in place penalties which meet community expectations.