The Sensible Sentencing Trust has today called on the Government to refresh its recent Cowards Punch law announcement with meaningful reform as had been achieved in multiple Australian States – rather than a tough-sounding headline with no actual teeth.

National Spokesperson, Louise Parsons today said: “While we welcome the Government’s willingness to address the broad issue, the proposal to introduce a new Cowards Punch law is little more than a name change from ‘Manslaughter’ to ‘Coward’s Punch’ with no change to sentencing requirements. The maximum sentence for both is ‘Life’ which is of course never imposed. It is the sentence that matters, not what it’s called – and not what the irrelevant maximum sentence is.”

“The glaring omission in the recent announcement, is the failure to propose a robust minimum non-parole sentence – which Sensible Sentencing Trust recommends as 8 years (two years less than the minimum for murder) - for these appalling cases of violence causing death, continued Ms Parsons.

“Sentencing for these types of offences in New Zealand is far lower than similar jurisdictions – such as Victoria and New South Wales in Australia. Even in Victoria, sentences of 9 to 10 and a half years for such killings are common – with minimum non parole periods of 6 to 10 years.

“In New Zealand, home detention is all too common for these killings. Even in the worst cases, sentences rarely exceed 3 years imprisonment.

For instance, the Coward Punch killing of Fau Vake in 2021 resulted in an appalling sentence of just 2 years and 9 months imprisonment. The offender came up for parole in a matter of a few months.

“There are multiple problems with sentencing practice in this area. Coward Punches are charged under the manslaughter provisions, but the low sentencing does not apply just to the small number of Cowards Punches. Appallingly low sentences are imposed for almost all manslaughter sentences – often resulting in home detention or at best a headline sentence of two to four years – with parole available after a matter of months. All for the violent killing of another human being." said Ms Parsons.

“Surely life in New Zealand must be worth more? The victims and their families are the ones who pay with a lifetime of loss and grief. The offender walks away after serving a few months in prison – if they are unlucky.

“We call on the Government to refresh their proposal with a robust law to strengthen sentencing for manslaughter in these and other cases of appalling violence.” concluded Ms Parsons.