Australia, Aug. 26 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on July 25:

1. The offender, Jake Barry Bob Ackling-Nicholson, appears today to be sentenced for a range of offences, committed during a period of two months in September and October 2023. The offending took place over two incidents, the first occurring between 4 and 9 September 2023, and the second occurring on 5 October 2023. The offender was arrested and charged with the offences before the Court on 5 October 2023. He has been in custody since this date, having spent a total of 660 days in custody for this offending. The offender is entitled to a 25% discount on sentence for his early guilty plea.

CHARGES

2. The offences, maximum penalties, standard non-parole periods and findings as to the objective seriousness for reasons given in these remarks are set out in the Table which is attached to and forms part of these remarks. The Table also sets out the charges placed on the Form 1 documents as they attach to the primary charges for sentence.

MAXIMUM PENALTIES

3. The maximum penalties and the standard non-parole periods are guideposts for sentencing Judges as to the seriousness with which the community, through parliament, views offending of this type.

4. In Markarian v The Queen (2005) 228 CLR 357 at [30]-[31], Gleeson CJ, Gummow, Hayne and Callinan JJ said:

"Legislatures do not enact maximum available sentences as mere formalities. Judges need sentencing yardsticks. It is well accepted that the maximum sentence available may in some cases be a matter of great relevance ...

It follows that careful attention to maximum penalties will almost always be required, first because the legislature has legislated for them; secondly, because they invite comparison between the worst possible case and the case before the court at the time; and thirdly, because in that regard they do provide, taken and balanced with all of the other relevant factors, a yardstick."

STANDARD NON-PAROLE PERIOD

5. The standard non-parole period is a matter to be taken into account as part of the determination of sentence. The legislation in Part 4 Division 1A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) (CSPA) specifies that the standard non-parole period applies to an offence found within the middle of the range of objective seriousness for such an offence, taking into account only objective factors, and without bringing to account any matters that are unique to the offender or the class of offenders.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/1984ec590223b7f944a5f70a)

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