The ACT government should be commended for being prepared to make changes to tackle the growing problem the territory has with alcohol-fuelled violence.
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Attorney-General Simon Corbell has flagged changes to lock-out laws, operating hours and the service of drunken patrons in a major reform set to be announced in a fortnight.
But the minister has made it clear that any reform to help curb violence in Canberra will not include legislative change on one-punch attacks.
This is a mistake.
It is true that increasing the penalties for such attacks as the only measure to combat the problem may not end it, but it would send a strong signal to the community.
And in combination with other measures, such as those the government has been examining, it could help bring an end to this form of violence. At the very least it could halt its increase.
Canberrans, like those in other affected communities around Australia, are shocked that assaults like this can happen, and incidents are increasing everywhere.
On Friday ACT Policing released another video of a sickening attack on a man outside the PJ O'Reilly's pub in Greenway in early December.
A victim also spoke out for the first time about his ongoing trauma after suffering a one-punch hit in Gungahlin in 2012.
It is stories like these that show just how traumatic a one-punch attack can be – an insidious form of violence where it's down to pure luck whether a victim lives, dies, or suffers brain damage as a result of smashing their head on the ground after an unprovoked attack.
Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson has recognised the community's fear on the subject and recently announced, in the party's first pre-election policy pitch, new laws for one-punch attacks.
The ACT government quickly called the proposed legislation a "con job on the community".
Alcohol fuelled violence, and in particular one-punch attacks, are causing great fear in the nation's capital where everyone should have the right to feel safe.
While stronger laws would be likely to have only a limited deterrent on drunken brawlers, they would still have merit as they would send a powerful signal that such behaviour was simply not acceptable in Canberra.
Legislation needs to be considered in any form of reform to tackle the crisis.
