Melbourne police bomber Craig Minogue will likely die in jail after losing a High Court battle against new laws which stop his chances of ever getting parole.
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On Wednesday, the full bench of the High Court unanimously upheld the validity of legislation blocking parole for murderers of police officers, despite Minogue arguing it was "cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment".
Minogue was jailed for life in 1988, with a non-parole period of 28 years, for murdering policewoman Angela Rose Taylor and injuring 22 others in a 1986 car bomb on Melbourne's Russell Street. He later killed a man in jail.
In September 2016, his sentence expired and the 57-year-old made a bid for freedom via the Adult Parole Board.
But his hopes were dashed when the Victorian government introduced laws to ensure he "dies behind bars".
Minogue successfully fought the legislation last year, with the High Court concluding it didn't apply to the bomber because his crime was indiscriminate and didn't intentionally target police.
Two months later, Victoria's government passed another bill to ensure Minogue could only get parole if he was in imminent danger of dying or being seriously incapacitated, and therefore no longer posed a threat to society.
At the time, Minogue took to Twitter, slamming the new legislation as a "de facto death sentence".
In April this year, his lawyers challenged the new law, arguing the Victorian parliament didn't have the power to punish criminals via legislation.
On Wednesday, the High Court ruled the legislation did not impose additional or separate punishment, but simply altered the conditions Minogue needed to meet for release.
The decision reconfirms that once sentenced, a prisoner becomes the responsibility of the state government, not the judicial system.
"In the case of (Minogue), at all times, there remained only one sentence - imprisonment for life," the judges said.
"The fixing of the non-parole period of 28 years said nothing about whether the plaintiff would be released on parole at the end of that ... it left his life sentence unaffected."
Premier Daniel Andrews said his position on Minogue's conduct was "very clear".
"We have made changes to the law to make sure that that individual dies in jail," he told reporters.
Earlier this year, Minogue also propelled a crackdown on prisoners using social media by proxy after leaking the news on Twitter that underworld figure and fellow Barwon Prison inmate Tony Mokbel had been stabbed.
Australian Associated Press
