The majority held that the sentencing judge had not erred in imposing eight years' imprisonment for three counts of rape committed by an Aboriginal offender in a remote community, and that the contention that the offender should receive a lower sentence because of membership of a deprived and dysfunctional community was not established by evidence. Fitzgerald P's dissent, while not binding, provides the most comprehensive Queensland judicial survey of principles applicable to sentencing Aboriginal offenders, holding that while Aboriginal offenders should not in principle receive lighter sentences for violent offences, the especially harsh impact of imprisonment on offenders from remote communities should be reflected in sentence structure, particularly through parole recommendations. The question of whether customary law punishment may be taken into account in Queensland sentencing was expressly left open.
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