Tom McLuckie holding a photo of his son Matthew.. “I wake at night worrying about how much pain he was in, and how much he suffered.” Photo: Holly Treadaway

In the months since his son’s death, Tom McLuckie has compiled and examined sentencing outcomes, drawing the conclusion that they are inadequate to act as a real deterrent against dangerous driving behaviour, reports BELINDA STRAHORN.

TOM McLuckie wakes at night agonising over his son’s final moments before the horror crash that claimed his life.

McLuckie’s son Matthew was killed in a head-on collision on Hindmarsh Drive – in Canberra’s south, on May 19.

The 20-year-old had been driving home from his part-time job at Canberra Airport when a stolen vehicle, believed to be travelling at high speeds on the wrong side of the road, collided with his car.

“[I can only imagine] the terror he must have felt as he realised a car was hurtling towards him as he drove home,” said McLuckie, 51.

“Knowing the extent of his injuries, I wake at night worrying about how much pain he was in, and how much he suffered.

“I will be haunted by these thoughts for the rest of my days.”

Three months on from the crash that ended Matthew’s life, McLuckie still ponders the aftermath of the collision.

His voice trembles as he recalls seeing his son’s uneaten dinner in the fridge from the night before, the knock on the door by police, and the painful memory of identifying his son’s body in the morgue – which continues to haunt him.

“I identified his broken, lifeless body at the coroner’s, still with the intubation tube in his mouth,” said McLuckie.

McLuckie said his son – who was studying computing at the ANU  – was a level-headed young man who had a bright future mapped out.

“Matthew wasn’t a partygoer, he was a grateful, hardworking, young man who was focused on his future,” said McLuckie.

“He was saving all the money he earned from his job to buy a house or an apartment. He was preparing to have his life, now that’s been taken away from him.”

Determined that no other family should face what his has endured, McLuckie is pushing three petitions before the ACT Legislative Assembly for change.

His campaign, “ACT Now for Safer Roads”, calls for higher minimum mandatory sentencing for dangerous drivers, and is focused on introducing tougher penalties for repeat driving offenders.

“The amount of reoffending from people in the ACT on parole, on suspended sentences, on good-behaviour bonds and on intensive corrections orders is huge,” said McLuckie.

“You can basically do what you want in Canberra, go through the Supreme Court and get a slap on the hand.

“There are certain people in the community who need a prison sentence to represent the crime they committed, particularly the repeat offenders who have a conviction list the length of your arm.”

In the months since his son’s death, McLuckie has compiled and examined sentencing outcomes, drawing the conclusion that they are inadequate to act as a real deterrent against dangerous driving behaviour.

He cites the case of Lachlan Seary, the 19-year-old designated driver killed last year in Hume when his car was hit at high speed.

“[Peter] Loeschnauer had drunk somewhere between 17 and 19 alcoholic beverages and also had MDMA (ecstasy) in his system and was so off his face he didn’t even know he hit Lachlan Seary’s car,” said McLuckie.

“It’s highly likely that Loeschnauer will be paroled at two years and 11 months.”

McLuckie’s review of sentences as they relate to dangerous driving has prompted his call for a review of judicial sentencing in the ACT.

He is disappointed by the response offered by the Attorney-General and Green’s leader Shane Rattenbury for an internal review, dismissing that as an inadequate response.

“They will never tell us the whole truth, they will only use the information or data that will suit their own political or legal bias,” said McLuckie.

The union representing Canberra’s police has supported McLuckie’s call for a review, describing the ACT’s sentencing and bail processes as “fundamentally flawed and dangerously inadequate”.

Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA) president Alex Caruana said he was dismayed by the Attorney-General’s decision not to commence a review, questioning whether Rattenbury had “something to hide”.

“By refusing to establish a review of sentencing and bail in the ACT, the attorney-general is clearly saying that he doesn’t want a spotlight on the judiciary,” he said.

“Why not? Who is holding the judiciary to account? If not the attorney-general, then who?”

McLuckie’s call for tougher action coincides with the soon-to-be-held parliamentary inquiry into dangerous driving.

The inquiry – chaired by the Liberal member for Ginninderra Peter Cain – will focus on criminal punishments, rehabilitation and the support provided to victims.

According to Cain, who also serves as the shadow attorney-general, other jurisdictions have gone much further on clamping down on dangerous driving.

“Dangerous driving is not a new thing… the government has had plenty of time to notice the problem, and have failed to do anything about it,” said Cain. 

“I do hope the inquiry and the recommendations will stimulate it into action.”

Meanwhile, McLuckie struggles to come to terms with his loss, and is finding it difficult to let go of the fact that his son is gone.

He said something “has to be done” if other families are not to suffer the same fate of losing a child to the recklessly irresponsible driving behaviours of others. 

“I can’t bring Matthew back but I can hope that what I’m doing will ensure it won’t happen to someone else,” said McLuckie.

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