ASTRO ABBOTT CHARGE RAISED

THE man accused of assaulting former prime minister Tony Abbott in Hobart faces jail time after the charges against him were upgraded.

Astro Labe, 38, of North Hobart, was accused of headbutting Mr Abbott, right, in Morrison St on September 21 and was charged with one count of common assault, before being granted conditional bail.

Yesterday, he was back in court facing a charge of “causing harm to a Commonwealth public official” and if found guilty could receive up to two years’ imprisonment and a $25,000 fine.

Mr Labe did not enter a plea and Deputy Chief Magistrate Michael Daly adjourned the case until January 18. He was bailed to appear again at the Magistrates Court on that date.

If the case was heard in the Supreme Court, the jail term could go as high as 10 years.

Outside court, Mr Labe did not make a statement to the media — a far cry from his numerous media appearances after the alleged incident last month.

Mr Abbott was allegedly assaulted as he walked along Morrison St, after a meeting at the Mercury offices, to his hotel in Hunter St. Mr Labe was arrested and initially charged with one count of common assault by police.

Mr Abbott alleged Mr Labe, who was wearing a pro-marriage equality sticker, was motivated by the divisive issue.

But Mr Labe told media it was a coincidence he was wearing the sticker.

Law Society of Tasmania vice-president and criminal law expert Evan Hughes said he could not comment on the case specifically, but described the upgraded charge of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official as unusual.

“It’s certainly not one I’ve seen in my career,” he said.

“It’s a much more complex charge than a common assault.

“It has a number of elements that need to be established before a person can be convicted of that offence.

“One of those is that the person who commits the act needs to be applying force to the person as a result of their role as a Commonwealth official — it’s not just based on whether they have a grudge against the person personally.

“If I had an argument with my local member of Parliament because he keeps using my wheelie bin, you would think that’s not an example where that charge would apply because it’s not in connection with their acts as a member of Parliament.”

Mr Hughes said as a federal offence, under the Criminal Code Act, when the charge was dealt with in the Supreme Court, the maximum penalty that applied was 10 years in prison. When the charge was dealt with summarily, or by a magistrate, it carried a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment and a $25,000 fine.

The prosecution yesterday consented to Mr Labe’s case being dealt with by a magistrate.