STATE OF TASMANIA v JACKSON PHILIP HILL-BISSETT 25 AUGUST 2025
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE JAGO J
Mr Hill-Bissett, you have pleaded guilty to the crime of dangerous driving. Additionally, I am dealing with your pleas of guilty to a number of related summary offences being evade police (aggravated circumstances); drive whilst not the holder of a driver’s licence; breach of bail conditions; contravene conditions of a notice; use unregistered motor vehicle; use motor vehicle with no premium cover; trespass and destroy property.
As at 14 January 2025, you were subject to a number of bail conditions imposed in the Magistrates Court. Those conditions included that you must not be found behind the controls of a motor vehicle, nor astride a motorcycle, during the period of bail. Additionally, you were subject to a similar condition pursuant to a police bail notice. You did not hold a valid driver’s licence. Your driver’s licence had expired on 15 June 2024.
On 14 January 2025, police received information that a vehicle that had allegedly been involved in an earlier incident with police, was in the Deloraine area. Police attended and located that vehicle. You were driving it. The vehicle was unregistered and did not have any premium cover. Police approached you and instructed you to exit the vehicle. You accelerated harshly in reverse and fled from police. As you departed, you left rubber burn marks on the road for a length of approximately 50 metres. You continued to reverse along West Church Street. When you attempted to turn your vehicle, you collided with a rock wall. You then drove at speed on to West Parade, narrowly missing a stationary police vehicle. Officers within that vehicle signalled for you to stop. You failed to do so. When you nearly struck the police vehicle, it was estimated that you were travelling at about 90 kph in a residential zone.
Police in the vehicle activated their lights and sirens and turned to pursue you. You did not stop but drove away and entered onto Emu Bay Road. To gain access to Emu Bay Road, you travelled the wrong way on a roundabout, displaying a “No Entry” sign. In doing so, you failed to give way to oncoming traffic. You continued on to Meander Valley Road. Police were still following your vehicle. You were estimated to be travelling at 120 kph, again in a predominately residential area. A witness who observed your vehicle, described it as overtaking two vehicles within a 60 kph zone, whilst there was oncoming traffic. The witnesses described that your vehicle very nearly collided head-on with the oncoming traffic. The witness also saw you perform two burnouts, loosing traction as you entered onto Porters Bridge Road and commenced travelling north.
Police continued to follow you. They observed that your vehicle failed to stay on the left hand side of the road. They also saw that your rear right tyre was blown and operating only on its rim. As you endeavoured to navigate a sweeping left-hand bend in the road, for some reason you came to a complete stop, causing traffic to be blocked in both lanes momentarily. You then accelerated away. You entered onto Kelly’s Road, which is a gravel road. It is estimated that you were travelling at approximately 90 kph on this road for a distance of about three kilometres. You entered onto a private property which was situated on Kelly’s Road. To gain entry, you drove through a locked farm gate and then travelled along a private driveway for approximately one kilometre. You drove around the turning circle at the top of the driveway and then drove through a fence and entered into a paddock. At this point, police stopped pursing you. You exited the vehicle and ran into some nearby bushes. A police cordon was put into place. Eventually, you came out of the bush and police apprehended you. You were arrested and you have been in custody since the date of your arrest.
Your dangerous driving went on for approximately 10-15 minutes during which time you travelled approximately 16 kilometres. You were driving predominately in residential areas which was subject to various speed limits of between 60 and 80 kilometres and, of course, at the time you were driving, you were subject to bail conditions imposed both by the court and by way of a police bail notice, which prohibited you from driving at all. Members of the public who reported your driving behaviour told police that they were concerned about what they had seen.
You are 28 years of age. You have a number of relevant prior convictions, many of them stemming from a serious drug addiction. Your recorded criminal history includes offences contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act, various driving offences, including offences contrary to the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act, some matters of dishonesty and bail offences. I am told you developed a significant drug addiction approximately 10 years ago after your father passed away and then a significant relationship broke down. You were struggling emotionally and turned to methylamphetamine. Very soon, what started as what you called a “weekend thing”, became a daily addiction.
In 2021, you were sentenced to a drug treatment order with a custodial component of five months. You successfully graduated from this programme, and I am told that for some time following your graduation, you were doing well. You were in employment and maintaining abstinence. It seems; however, you resumed spending time with past associates and again commenced using methylamphetamine. Before long, your addiction resurfaced. You were in the grips of that addiction when this crime occurred.
I am told that whilst you have been remanded in custody, your grandmother passed away. This was a salient experience for you. You felt guilty about being unable to be there to support your family. It reinforced to you just how much methylamphetamine has adversely impacted your life. You are determined to try again at addressing your methylamphetamine addiction. Accordingly, I had you assessed as to your eligibility for the CMD programme. The CMD report I obtained is, in my view, generally positive and assesses you as eligible for the programme, but unfortunately you are unsuitable for diversion into the programme because you do not have an appropriate residential address.
In my view, your driving was a serious example of the crime of dangerous driving. Whilst the distance and time involved is not overly significant compared to many other matters that come before the Court, your driving took place predominately in residential areas and in areas where there were other vehicles and pedestrians present. The occupants of several vehicles were put at actual risk arising from the real possibility of collision as a result of your manner of driving. You committed this crime in the context of evading police, which of course added an element of desperation to your driving with consequential increased risk. It also put the police officers involved in this episode at risk. The degree of desperation and your capacity to take increased risk as a result, is demonstrated by the fact that you continued to drive for some distance on a tyre that was deflated to the point of you driving on the rim of your wheel, and you drove through a locked gate in order to access a private driveway and then entered into the paddock in an endeavour to flee from police.
In terms of your conduct generally, there is little that can be regarded as mitigating although I note the plea of guilty, and the insight that you have demonstrated as to the seriousness of your conduct. In a matter of this nature, there is clearly a need for a sentence which emphasis both general and specific deterrence as well as denunciation and community protection. Anyone thinking of driving a vehicle in this manner must realise the potential for serious injury and death to others, and must appreciate that it is simply unacceptable and such behaviour will inevitably incur severe punishment. In my view, given your unsuitability for Court Mandated Drug Diversion programme, the only appropriate sentence is a term of imprisonment and driving disqualification. Because of the prospects for rehabilitation that you have previously demonstrated, I will make allowance for parole.
I make the following orders. You are convicted of the crime of dangerous driving and the offences to which you have pleaded guilty. In respect to the crime of dangerous driving, you are sentenced to a term of 20 months’ imprisonment, commencing on 14 January 2025. I order that you are not eligible for parole in respect of that sentence until you have served one-half of the period of imprisonment. In respect to count 1 on complaint 50197/24, being evade police in aggravated circumstances, you are sentenced to imprisonment for a period of two months. That sentence will be served cumulatively upon the sentence imposed for dangerous driving. Again, I order that you are not eligible for parole in respect of that sentence until you have served one-half of the period of imprisonment. In respect to all other summary offences, I make no further order beyond the convictions. I do not consider it necessary, given the other sentences imposed, to impose further penalty.
On the dangerous driving charge, you are disqualified from driving for a period of three years. That disqualification will commence from the date of your release from custody. On the evade police (aggravated circumstances) charge, you are disqualified from driving for a period of 12 months. That disqualification will operate concurrently with the disqualification order imposed in respect to the dangerous driving.