A 20 per cent discount for a guilty plea is open where the plea is entered 16 months after charge, even where the plea is characterised as at an early opportunity. The Fernando principles do not require a sentencing judge to place significant weight on an indigenous offender's disadvantaged background where the objective seriousness of the offence is high; it is sufficient that the judge has had regard to those principles in the balancing exercise. Violence perpetrated in a public place after consumption of alcohol is a serious crime requiring adequate punishment for general deterrence.
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