Queensland’s Attorney-General says the state could look to change its laws in the wake of Ezra Mam’s controversial drug driving sentence, which a top criminal lawyer has described as “extremely lenient”. The Brisbane Broncos player was hit with an $850 fine and disqualified from driving for six months on Monday in the Brisbane Magistrates Court.
The 21-year-old NRL star was charged with driving while unlicensed and with drugs in his system after crashing his car into another vehicle in October. A four-year-old girl reportedly suffered a broken hip in the accident, although Mam escaped any charges relating to the crash itself and no conviction was recorded.
Magistrate Mark Nolan chastised Mam for his “stupid decision” to drive unlicensed with a “cocktail of drugs” including cocaine in his system. But the $850 fine that Mam received has sparked outrage in the community, with Queensland’s Attorney-General Deb Frecklington pointing out that its less than the punishment for using a mobile phone while driving in the state – which can incur a fine of around $1200 and the loss of four demerit points.
Queensland’s deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie described Mam’s punishment as “disgraceful” and “a slap on the wrist” and the Attorney-General said it could force the state into a change of its laws. “I can understand that for many Queenslanders, this outcome doesn’t pass the pub test,” Ms Frecklington said in a statement. “Most Queenslanders would expect that the penalty for a driver who’s found to have drugs in their system would be more severe than the penalty for using a mobile phone behind the wheel. I will be consulting with my colleagues, in particular the transport minister, and considering what changes can be made to our laws.”
Debate rages over how the NRL should punish Ezra Mam
Mam pleaded guilty on Monday to driving while a relevant drug is present in blood and driving without a licence after reportedly telling police at the scene he knew his licence had been suspended because of lost demerit points. All eyes will now be on what punishment he receives from the NRL, amid calls for the governing body to come down hard on the five-eighth in light of his divisive sentence.
Previous reports have suggested the NRL are looking at banning Mam for around 12 weeks. But considering how light his punishment was in court on Monday, former NRL player Scott Sattler isn’t sure the league will be able to dish out such a heavy sanction because of the precedent that’s already been set.
“Josh Addo-Carr got a three-month driving ban and $682 fine. NRL suspension was four games. Braydon Trindall got $1100 and three-month driving suspension, and he missed five games,” Sattler said on SEN radio. “So based on the precedent that’s been set…you’ve got to anticipate the NRL suspension will be anywhere from four to six weeks. It can’t be any more serious than that can it? The precedent has been set.”
Questions raised over Ezra Mam’s penalty and stint in rehab
However, leading Sydney criminal lawyer Paul McGirr told News Corp he’d expect Mam to be suspended for up to 16 weeks after questioning whether his four-week stint in rehab was really enough. And Mr McGirr said it would not surprise him if the Crown appealed what he described as an “extremely lenient” sentence for Mam.
“I say this because Mr Mam has only completed one month of rehabilitation. Any rehab for drug use needs at least six to 12 months to have an effect, and it’s ongoing,” McGirr said. “Putting Mr Mam into the pressure-cooker of rugby league, while he still has these issues in the background, would be unfair to him and his teammates. The difficult situation is that it’s now up to the NRL to actually punish this particular offence appropriately. And I would be extremely surprised if the Crown didn’t appeal this particular matter.”
Brisbane drug and alcohol rehab centre, Hader Clinic Queensland, states on their website that 30-day treatment programs are beneficial for people who might have a short-term addiction, but evidence shows that longer treatment programs have a “greater likelihood of long-term abstinence and recovery”. It does state that 30-day programs – like the one Mam underwent – are effective for those who have a “short-term addiction where there are no complex or long-term consequences of their addiction to address”.
While that may well be the case with the Broncos five-eighth, Mr McGirr agrees with the assertion that Mam’s penalty for driving with drugs in his system, without a license and injuring three people in a car crash “fails the pub test”. And if the Crown does appeal his sentence – and is successful – then the Brisbane star would be re-sentenced in a district court.
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