A sentencing judge who nominates a starting point and applies arithmetical percentage discounts for subjective matters and guilty plea commits the two-tier sentencing error identified in Markarian. On re-sentence for conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of cocaine, where the offender had a managerial role and knew a very large quantity was involved, a head sentence of 17 years 6 months with an 11-year non-parole period was appropriate after a 25% discount for an early guilty plea. A six-year disparity in starting points between co-offenders whose roles, while different, did not justify such a gap, gives rise to a justifiable sense of grievance, but the scope for reduction is limited where the objective gravity is high. Hoeben CJ at CL questioned whether the 'exceptional hardship' threshold for family hardship should be stated inflexibly.
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