More law and order on the run

After the July 2012 death of Thomas Kelly from a one-punch assault in Kings Cross, the NSW government engaged in a nuanced and multi-faceted response to alcohol-fuelled violence in Sydney’s major entertainment precinct. Unfortunately, the government’s latest response — the Crimes and Other Legislation Amendment (Assault and Intoxication) Act 2014 (NSW) (‘the Act’) — is deserving of no such praise. Not only is the argument that a discrete ‘one punch’ law is necessary in NSW without foundation, but the legislation has been drafted in a legally complex and confusing way that is likely to result in operational difficulty.