Statement from the Attorney-General

The High Court of Australia has unanimously ruled in favour of the Crisafulli Government, overturning the Queensland Court of Appeal’s decision, and reinstating the sentence imposed on Emma Lovell’s killer.

The original sentence was 14 years' detention, with 70 per cent of the sentence to be served in

detention before release eligibility. The sentence was handed down under the former Labor government’s weak laws.

Had the LNP’s Adult Crime, Adult Time regime been in place, the mandatory sentence would have been life imprisonment.

In August 2025, the Queensland Court of Appeal varied the original sentence, reducing the period of detention served to 60 per cent.

I pursued all available legal avenues to seek review of that outcome, in order to preserve the small amount justice afforded to the Lovell family.

This was the first criminal matter taken to the High Court by a Queensland Attorney- General in more than two decades.

Today’s judgment represents the final determination of the matter by Australia’s highest court.

The Crisafulli Government will always put victims ahead of offenders, unlike the former Labor Government.