STIRLING TRAIN STATION
ASSAULT
510. Hon COLIN TINCKNELL to the Leader of the House
representing the Attorney General:
(1) Under what
rationale have five of the teenagers charged with violently bashing Matthew
Henson at Stirling train station on 13 February been granted an additional four
weeks within which to enter their pleas relating to the charges?
(2) Given the
seriousness of these charges and given that one of the six accused has already
pleaded guilty to the charges and is awaiting sentencing, why has this matter
been allowed to be delayed at the initial phase of entering a plea?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(2) The
decision to adjourn the matter was one made by a properly constituted court
that operates entirely independently of the executive branch of government.