2:29p.m. 14th May 2008

| By Suzanne Keen

The Queensland Government has been accused of “dithering” over the proposed “one punch can kill” law reform aimed at cracking down on violent crime.

Attorney-General Kerry Shine announced today that the Queensland Law Reform Commission would be asked to review the "accidental death" excuse which can be used by defendants in murder and manslaughter trials to claim they are not responsible for the deaths caused by their actions.

However, Queensland Liberal Leader Mark McArdle said this was a curious excuse for delaying “one punch can kill” laws just months after Premier Anna Bligh launched an expensive PR campaign using the slogan to highlight the effects of violence.

Mr McArdle said the government’s “sluggish response” to concerns about abuse of the "accidental defence" meant violent thugs had a legal excuse for killing someone.

"There is no human activity more serious than killing someone. This is a fundamental principle in a legal system and the respect for human life that underpins it," the Member for Caloundra said.

"Queensland needs 'one punch can kill' laws to stop violent thugs using the opportunistic 'accidental death' defence.

“A dithering and non-committal government that will move heaven and earth to adopt the 'one punch can kill' advertising slogan should match its media performances with legislative teeth."

Mr Shine, the Minister for Justice, said today that there had been a lot of publicity about violence in the community in recent years, and the government wanted to make sure its laws reflected community expectations.

“Last October the government released a discussion paper following an audit of murder and manslaughter trials over the previous five years which determined the frequency of use of the accident excuse or the defence of provocation,” he said.

“We received 34 submissions to the discussion paper and after careful consideration the government has decided to refer this matter to the Queensland Law Reform Commission.

“In particular I have asked the QLRC to consider the results of the audit and to look at whether the current excuse of accident reflects community expectations.

Last year, the Shadow Attorney-General introduced a Private Member's Bill that would have removed the "accidental death" excuse by enabling a "one punch can kill" legislation. However, the bill was defeated earlier this year by Labor Party MPs.

"The Coalition's bill would have put teeth into the government's words,” Mr McArdle said.

“It would send a strong message to aggressive, violent and out-of-control thugs who used the 'accidental death' excuse to avoid taking responsibility for their actions."

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