Opinion: Tougher laws no antidote to violence

In a strongly-worded opinion piece published in The Canberra Times on Tuesday, Nicholas Stuart expressed his dissatisfaction with Simon Corbell's response to an alleged one-punch attack in Civic in the early hours of New Year's Day. I understand Mr Stuart's concern about violence of this nature. I also appreciate the personal perspective he brings to the devastating consequences of such offences. Unfortunately, Mr Stuart's piece contains some fundamental misunderstandings about the law which should not go uncorrected. He states that "the maximum, absolute maximum, penalty for common assault is two years' imprisonment. A brain injury lasts for life". That is all very well, but offences of this nature do not in fact result in a charge of common assault, which applies only to cases involving minor assaults, such as spitting or touching someone's body without causing any ongoing damage.