Where a sentencing judge is required by s 54B(4) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) to identify fully the facts, matters and circumstances bearing upon the sentence, the general approach of reading reasons generously (the Pozzolanic approach) must yield to that statutory obligation, and a court of criminal appeal will not fill in gaps in the reasons. A sentencing judge who first fixes a total sentence and then fashions individual sentences to achieve that total commits a Pearce error, even though the appeal may be dismissed if the individual sentences are within range.
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