Bereft father ANDREW CORNEY shares the tragic circumstances of losing his four-year-old son and his frustration at the criminal legal system’s failure to protect the community from the carnage caused by repeat offenders.

My four-year-old son, Blake Corney, was killed on the sunny morning of July 28, 2018, when a Canberra Sand and Gravel 7.5-tonne truck hit my car at about 69km/h. 

We were waiting with a dozen others at the traffic lights on the Monaro Highway, at the intersection with Mugga Lane. We were on our way to Toys ’R‘ Us. 

Blake loved life. He was energetic and seemed to find joy in just living.

He was in the back seat of our Ford Territory with brother Aidan (aged two at the time). 

I was driving with my wife in the front passenger seat. It was a sunny day with no adverse weather or road conditions.

The traffic lights were clearly visible from at least 300 metres on a double-lane road. Police investigators would find there were no mechanical issues with the truck.

Blake was killed instantly and I was knocked out. Camille broke some ribs and, amazingly, Aidan had no damage.

What I saw that day was horrific. I still cannot get my mind around a happy four-year-old boy listening to his favourite music while travelling to a toy store with his family and the horror of what I saw next. I am trapped in this space.

Police ultimately charged the truck driver, a repeat offender named  Akis Livas, with culpable driving causing death. Livas said he had fallen asleep at the wheel with a sleep condition that he was unaware of.

The DPP uncovered evidence that Livas was aware he may have sleep apnoea from a previous jail visit and that he had been referred for a sleep apnoea study twice.

On that basis he pled guilty on February 19, 2020, about two weeks before trial (a practice he did with his previous conviction for rape where he pled guilty just before trial).

Livas, who has around 50 offences with around 35 of them being for traffic violations, received a three year and three months prison sentence after a 12 per cent discount was applied for an early guilty plea. Livas was set a two year and three months non-parole period.

He received parole in 2022 despite having not addressed his underlying criminal culpability, being his sleep apnoea. The Sentence Administration Board stated they were unable to place a condition on his parole regarding addressing his sleep apnoea.

Make no mistake, the ACT jurisdiction failed Blake and failed my family.

Over the past seven years a great many people have demonstrated sympathy and compassion that I found supportive and comforting.

I thank the ACT government for the changes they have made that stemmed from the coronial inquiry into Blake’s death.

However, while I would like to tell you that changes have been made to improve aspects of the criminal legal and correctional services systems that directly relate to Blake’s death, I cannot. 

Sadly, I am not the only victim of serious crime in the ACT who is not comfortable with the lack of positive action. Particularly in relation to necessary changes to the criminal legal and correctional services systems to reduce the carnage caused by repeat offenders. 

Everyone makes mistakes, but it is those who keep making mistakes of a criminal nature that should concern us all and indicate all is not well.

John Mikita, whose grandmother was killed in a violent home invasion in Canberra, now attempts to gauge community views on safety within the northern areas of Canberra because not enough is being done to protect his loved ones. 

Tom McLuckie, driven by the death of his son, when a car on the wrong side of the road hit his son at some speed, has shown extraordinary leadership in producing statistics that highlight the problems within the criminal legal and correctional services systems. No one in the ACT government has countered Tom’s statistics, much less acknowledged them.

So why has nothing substantial been done? I see three potential factors that may also work in combination. 

Firstly, the academic research suggesting rehabilitation is the best way to reduce crime has been oversold to those who want to believe. I have seen no evidence that this view represents the only, or even a substantial solution. 

This research seems to be intellectual dishonesty at worst and misleading at best. It does not offer wide-scale practical solutions and no solutions for those that cannot, or will not, be rehabilitated. It leaves soft-on-crime jurisdictions like the ACT with little room to correct criminal behaviour that is in the too-hard basket.

Secondly, the ACT government does not consider the safety of its citizens a priority. Recent efforts by the ACT Liberals to introduce an amendment to bail laws like the Labor government in Victoria, was voted down by the rest of the ACT Assembly. This is despite continuing concern from sections of the community regarding offences by those on bail. Some of which have led to deaths.

Thirdly, the ACT government may be incompetent at introducing and running rehabilitation programs in the jail or in the wider community. The Alexander Maconochie Centre is in the news regularly regarding an apparent string of failures, despite being the highest cost-per-person prison in the country. I understand there are some programs at the AMC that are working, but nowhere near the goals of the jail when first built.

What can be done? 

I think the ACT government should make it clearer that they will protect citizens by adding a right to be protected to the ACT Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT). Perhaps symbolic, but before you can have a right to housing or employment you should feel you are protected.

Secondly, introduce education in schools about appropriate behaviour that can cover gambling, respecting minorities, violent behaviour and dangerous driving. Record statistics on how well children understand these concepts and provide counselling for those who are drifting off the rails. This education should begin in primary school.

Record more meaningful statistics on crime-related matters and whether current sentencing practices are effective in reducing repeat offenders. The glib term “jailing is failing” is too simplistic to be useful beyond shock tactics for partisan organisations. The AMC must include a better emphasis on skills and attitudes for those incarcerated.

Lastly, too much emphasis seems to be focused on the court/jail end of the process. The ACT must improve the education, employment opportunities, health and housing (especially public housing) of those who are likely to reoffend. However, such changes have been problematic for the ACT over the last decade.

I acknowledge the new Attorney-General Tara Cheyne is attempting to address some of the issues in the criminal legal space by progressing a review of decision-making criteria in the Bail Act and proposing the introduction of indicative sentencing. 

However, given the last seven years, I have great trepidation that those in the Assembly, with no lived experience as victims, will smother this work.

We all deserve better from the Assembly; do not wait to see if you end up in my shoes.

Andrew Corney is Blake’s father and road safety advocate