Where a criminal offence has been repealed, s 30 of the Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) preserves the liability to penalty for offences committed before repeal, and s 55(2) (reduction of penalty) has no application — the abolition of an offence is not a reduction of penalty. However, in cases of purely consensual conduct where the offence has been abolished, the fact of repeal may be relevant to quantum and could warrant a nominal sentence. The parity principle in Lowe v The Queen applies only to co-offenders, not to different offenders who committed similar crimes.
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