The Gold Coast Bulletin

Laws a win for drivers over towies

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THE “broken” family of a Queensland grandfathe­r killed in a cowardly and unprovoked one-punch attack have slammed his attacker’s sentence as “pathetic”.

Lavinia Duroux, sister of Trevor Duroux, spoke outside the Supreme Court in Brisbane yesterday after Justice James Douglas sentenced her brother’s attacker to 6½ years jail after he pleaded guilty to unlawful striking causing death.

Tristan Mataora Heather, 20, could be freed in less than five years if he is given parole, and discounts for time served in immigratio­n detention are included.

Ms Duroux said she felt let down by the system which was supposed to give her brother justice.

“Its pathetic,” she said. “We’re supposed to have these laws in to make change. Why are the judges afraid of change? The message the judge is sending is it’s okay to go and hit somebody when you are fully tanked on alcohol because you only get four years of your life locked away.”

Heather is almost certain to be deported to New Zealand upon his release.

A packed courtroom was told that he had only been in Australia for a few months when he struck Mr Duroux in the head outside the Coolangatt­a Hotel in the early hours of December 4, 2015.

Mr Duroux fell and hit his head on the road, and Heather fled before being arrested hours later. Mr Duroux died 11 days later in Gold Coast University Hospital. Both men had been drinking as part of a group celebratin­g Heather’s 18th birthday, but were not known to each other.

Heather had consumed about 20 drinks at the hotel, mostly bought for him by friends and family.

He had also drunk about four beers before he went out, making it the most he had ever consumed.

Mr Duroux’s niece Rachael Duroux said she felt let down by the sentence, adding no amount of jail time could “mend” what Heather did to her family. Heather wrote an apology to the Duroux family. GOLD Coast motorists will have greater protection­s if their car is towed, with legislatio­n cracking down on dodgy tow truck operators passing state parliament yesterday.

The laws follow an investigat­ion into the industry last year sparked by reports of rogue operators charging exorbitant towing fees of up to $1000.

Some tow truck companies were also found to be using entrapment practises to lure motorists into parking their cars in spaces they controlled.

The report by former District Court Judge Michael Forde made 22 recommenda­tions, all of which were accepted by the state Labor government last year.

The new laws cap towing fees at $150 for on-site release, $250 for private property towing and $348 for crash towing, and prohibits extra “administra­tion” charges being added to bills. The maximum fine for breaching tow truck regulation­s has also been lifted from $2523 to $10,092.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the reforms struck a balance between protecting motorists while still ensuring those genuinely parking illegally were appropriat­ely punished.

The changes take effect from April to allow companies to comply with the new laws.

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