The nature of the offence from which the attempt to pervert the course of justice derives is relevant to assessing the seriousness of the attempt, and this principle applies equally where the prosecution that an offender attempts to pervert concerns another person. The distinction between treating the gravity of the underlying offence as an 'aggravating' factor versus a 'relevant' factor is artificial and without substance. Sentences of 3 years' imprisonment with 2-year non-parole periods were within range for mid-range examples of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to a murder prosecution.
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