Australia, July 7 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on June 6:

1. STERN JA: I have had the very great benefit of seeing a draft of the judgment of Ierace J. I agree with his Honour that ground 3 should be upheld and I agree with his Honour's reasons for so finding. I agree with his Honour's reasons for rejecting ground 2.

2. As to ground 5, whilst the sentencing judge made observations in his remarks on sentence to the effect that there was "some similarity" between the applicant's case and the case of the other hypothetical offenders his Honour described in the passage set out by Ierace J at [39], I am satisfied that ultimately no inference adverse to the applicant was drawn by his Honour on the basis of such similarity. This is apparent from his Honour's identification that in the applicant's case there was no evidence of "any higher level in the hierarchy" and thus, logically, no "principals" paying her legal fees in exchange for her silence. It follows that I agree with Ierace J that there was thus no denial of procedural fairness.

3. I also agree with the sentence that his Honour proposes on resentence. I would only add that, on resentence, in addition to the matters relied upon by Ierace J, including the matters set out in the further evidence tendered at the appeal hearing, I have taken into account what I consider to be the applicant's low risk of reoffending.

4. FAGAN J: I agree with Ierace J. I also agree with Stern JA's observations about the passage in the remarks on sentence with which ground 5 is concerned.

5. IERACE J: The applicant seeks leave pursuant to s 5(1)(c) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) to appeal a sentence imposed upon her by his Honour Judge King SC on 24 November 2023, following her plea of guilty to an offence of supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, namely, 998.3g of methylamphetamine, contrary to s 25(2) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW). A large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine is not less than 0.5kg: Sch 1 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act.

6. The applicant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 6 years and 9 months, that commenced on 23 February 2023 and will expire on 22 November 2029, with a non-parole period of 5 years, to expire on 22 February 2028. The maximum penalty for the offence is imprisonment for life (and/or 5000 penalty units): s 33(3)(a) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act. It has a standard non-parole period of 15 years: s 54A(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) (the Sentencing Procedure Act). The sentence imposed on the applicant took into account a mandatory 25 per cent discount for the utilitarian value of her early plea of guilty, pursuant to s 25D(2)(a) of the Sentencing Procedure Act.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/193bd8a5eb865babe186fa13)

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