The Queen v Christian

The matter before the court was an application by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to revoke the bail of Christian, the accused, who was facing charges of sexual intercourse with a young person and supplying liquor to a minor, among other offences. The DPP sought the revocation of bail due to Christian's alleged commission of further offences while on bail and his breach of bail conditions. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island.

The court was required to determine whether the bail should be revoked or continued, taking into consideration the criteria outlined in section 25 of the Bail Act 2005 (NI). The primary issue was whether Christian's actions warranted the revocation of bail, given that he had committed further offences and breached his bail conditions. The court also needed to weigh the potential risk to the community against Christian's right to liberty.

The court concluded that, despite Christian's breaches of bail conditions, his bail should not be revoked. The court found that the offences committed while on bail were not serious enough to warrant revocation, and Christian's behaviour did not pose a significant risk to the community. Furthermore, the court acknowledged the support Christian had from his family and the measures in place to ensure his compliance with the bail conditions. Consequently, the court decided to continue Christian's bail with modified conditions to better ensure his compliance and protect the community.

The final orders of the court were as follows: the matter was listed for trial on Norfolk Island commencing on 4 June 2018 at 10:15am; the matter was listed for case management on 8 May 2018 at 9:00am (AEDT) via audio-visual link between Sydney-Brisbane-Norfolk Island; the application by the Commonwealth DPP to revoke Christian's bail was dismissed; and Christian's bail was continued with modified conditions, as detailed in the judgment.