A sentencing judge who refers to the utilitarian value of a plea of guilty must specify the discount allowed or indicate how it is incorporated into the overall sentencing discount; failure to do so constitutes error. However, the concept of an irreducible minimum sentence means that cumulative discounts for plea and assistance cannot reduce a sentence below a level that bears a reasonable relationship with the objective seriousness of the offence. The principles in SZ v Regina regarding the interaction of discounts apply to Commonwealth sentencing under s 16A of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).
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