Should we revive an archaic law after the Eastern Freeway incident?
Like most Victorians, I have enormous sympathy for Stuart Schulze, the husband of Lynette Taylor, one of the four police officers killed in the Eastern Freeway tragedy. I understand his belief that the three-month sentence handed down to Richard Pusey seems an inadequate punishment for his conduct in filming and mocking the dying officers. Mr Schulze has called for a new offence of outraging public decency to honour his late wife, and reflect the heinousness of the conduct. The offence would be a new statutory version of the old common law offence, with a punishment of up to 10 years jail. Stuart Schulze, husband of Lynette Taylor, one of the four police officers killed in the Eastern Freeway tragedy. Credit:Darrian Traynor  However, I am concerned that a new, ramped-up version of outraging public decency is not the solution. Such an offence may create new problems down the track. It is vague, archaic and uncertain. It leaves a very wide discretion to police, and may criminalise conduct in a way that infringes civil liberties and human rights. Outraging public decency is essentially an aggravated form of offensive behaviour. It punishes acts of a lewd, obscene or disgusting character, when done in a public place. The acts must outrage minimum standards of public decency.