Tougher sentences will apply for hate crime: Oz Govt

Australia is mulling tougher punishments for those indulging in hate crimes and race attack.

In the backdrop of increased racial attacks on Indians,Australia is mulling tougher punishments for those indulging in such crimes,a move aimed at re-instilling confidence among foreign students outraged by the recent incidents of violence in the country.

Attorney General Rob Hulls is pushing for a plan where in judges will have to take into account “hatred for or prejudice against a particular group of people” as an aggravating factor when sentencing offenders.

“Tougher sentences will apply to the crimes deemed to be based on victims’ race,religion,gender or sexual orientation,” according to media reports here.

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Hulls said he hoped to have the new offence inserted into the state ‘Sentencing Act’ by the end of the year.

Government ministers,who are distressed at the spate of assaults on Indians in Melbourne,were also considering a longer-term proposal to make “hate crime” a new statutory offence,’The Age’ reported.

The move comes after both Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Victorian Premier John Brumby reassured Indian government yesterday that they were taking the issue seriously and that Victoria was still a safe place for Indians to live.

Rudd said he had told Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last Friday that Australia was working closely with the states to ensure attackers were brought to justice and that Indian students were being protected.

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