Firearm supply — Non exculpatory duress — Childhood disadvantage — Refugee status -Acculturation
Quick Take
1A claim of non-exculpatory duress advanced solely through unsworn accounts to a psychologist and vague references in intercepted communications, without the offender giving evidence or providing corroborating detail, will be approached with significant circumspection and may fail to meet the balance of probabilities threshold required by R v Olbrich (1999) 199 CLR 270.
2Bugmy v The Queen principles apply to an offender's refugee background and acculturative stress, which may diminish moral culpability and moderate the weight of general deterrence, even where those early-life disadvantages are not causally connected to the specific offending.
3In assessing objective criminality under s 51B(1) of the Firearms Act 1996, relevant factors include the number and type of firearms, obliteration of serial numbers, the offender's role as intermediary, use of encrypted communications to avoid detection, and the value of the transactions.
