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New South Wales has introduced groundbreaking domestic violence legislation aimed at imposing the strictest penalties in the country on individuals convicted of murdering their partners.
In a notable case, one offender was sentenced to a mere 15 and a half years without the possibility of parole.
“I hope she’d be proud,” expressed Acret, “because as a mother, it’s heartbreaking to feel that I didn’t protect her. That’s the role of a mom, and I failed.”
Driven by the fear that her daughter’s killer’s sentence might lead to even more lenient punishments in the future, she passionately advocated for change within the state government.
“It was then I realized, is this what we consider normal? It’s terrifying,” she remarked.
Today, her campaigning paid off as NSW introduced the strictest domestic violence laws in the country.
The state will be the first to legislate a standard non-parole period of 25 years for “intimate partner homicide” – or domestic violence murder – up from the previous 20.
Although the periods are not mandatory, the law will give judges more discretion to set higher minimum non-parole terms.
“It won’t return a murdered loved one to their family, but justice is important,” Premier Chris Minns said.
In the past five years alone, 42 women have been murdered by their partner in NSW.
In 2023, the average non-parole period for those killers was just 13 and a half years.
Tyrone Thompson breached an Apprehended Violence Order at least eight times before killing Anderson.
Acret says it should have attracted a mandatory minimum sentence the first time.
“This sends a strong message that AVOs are worth the paper they’re written on, because the moment they’re not,” she said.