When sentencing for aviation offences under s 16(3) of the Crimes (Aviation) Act 1991 (Cth), the means adopted to commit the offence — including whether a threat was made by way of trick rather than actual force — bears on the relative gravity of the offending. An offender's drug-induced psychotic state may reduce moral culpability and suitability as a vehicle for general deterrence where the offender did not foresee the probable consequences of drug ingestion, even where the offender has a history of drug use. The absence of a financial, political or like motive, where offending is driven by delusional belief, also reduces the relative gravity of the offending.
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