WA Liberals promise mandatory jail of up to 15 years for dealing methamphetamine

Meth dealers would face the harshest penalties in Australia — mandatory jail terms of up to 15 years for anyone caught selling the drug — under a WA Liberal Government. Opposition Leader Zak Kirkup recommitted his party to the hard line policy it took to the 2017 election, saying West Australians were “sick and tired of seeing meth dealers getting arrested by police and then returning back to their evil ways within days or weeks of the arrest”. “The Liberals have listened to the community, who want these criminals behind bars to stem the supply of drugs, and to also give families a fighting chance to help rehabilitate their addicted relatives and friends,” Mr Kirkup said. Under the plan, judges would have no choice but to imprison anyone convicted of selling meth with the length of the term dependant on the volume of meth seized. Dealers caught with up to 10g would face at least a year in jail, while those arrested with between 10g and 50g would be jailed for a minimum of five years. Between 50g to 200g would attract at least a 10 year sentence, with anything above that landing a dealer in jail for 15 or more years. The new sentencing requirements would only apply to people charged by police with “intent to sell or supply” rather than possession for personal use. There are currently no minimum mandatory sentences for dealing meth in WA. The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction that currently enforces automatic jail terms, and only when possessing a firearm, ammunition or weapons while committing drug offence. Ahead of the 2017 election, Premier Mark McGowan pledged to increase the maximum penalty for dealers caught with more than 28g of the drug to life in prison and it was the first piece of legislation his government introduced to Parliament. He also said he would match the Liberal promise to introduce mandatory minimum sentences for dealers but backed away from the measures — which are strongly opposed by civil liberties groups — when in government. One of the primary arguments against mandatory sentencing is that it removes the incentive to plead guilty — which usually attracts a lighter sentence — clogging up the court system with a spike in the number of cases that go to trial. But Shadow Police Minister Peter Katsambanis said simply increasing the maximum sentence for high-level offending was not a strong enough deterrent and meth dealers deserved more than a “slap on the wrist”. “These tough new laws are exactly what the current Labor Government promised to introduce in 2017 but have failed to deliver in the past four years,” Mr Katsambanis said. “Labor even blocked attempts by the Liberal Party to introduce tough mandatory minimum jail terms for meth dealers. “Under Labor’s watch, meth dealing has continued to be a scourge on every community across Western Australia, with frustrated neighbours regularly reporting the prevalence of drug houses in their local streets.” Mr Katsambanis said the laws would send a powerful message to meth dealers: “You will face a very long time in jail.” “The Liberals want to give our hard-working police a fighting chance to defeat this terrible scourge by getting meth off our streets for good,” he said. “We also want to allow addicts and their families to seek the treatment they desperately need without the fear that the meth dealer will lure them back to the destructive pathway of addiction.”

WA Liberals promise mandatory jail of up to 15 years for dealing methamphetamine

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