appeal against sentence — attempting to possess a marketable quantity of an unlawfully imported border control drug contrary to s 307.6 of Commonwealth Criminal Code — state offence — original sentence imposed 7 years and 9 months’ imprisonment with 5 year and 3 month non-parole period — original sentence arrived at after head sentence corrected and non-parole period left unchanged — non-parole period subsequently amended — antecedents — s 16A(2)(m) — sentencing judge not in error by denying offender leniency because of offender’s previous assault conviction when sentencing judge’s comments read contextually — instinctive synthesis — in exchange between sentencing judge and counsel, sentencing judge indicated that he would “find special circumstances” — no indication in sentencing judge’s reasons that sentencing judge employed two-step process by determining assumed starting point then identifying special circumstances — Court will not ordinarily find error on basis of exchanges between bench and counsel — guilty plea — s 16A(2)(g) — that sentence imposed has ratio of 67% between non-parole period and head sentence does not demonstrate error — that head sentence corrected by reduction of 23% whilst non-parole period reduced by only 8.7% does not demonstrate error — sentencing not to be approached by equation — sentencing judge in error due to lack of transparency in process by which sentencing judge arrived at non-parole period — offender resentenced to 7 years and 9 months’ imprisonment with 5 year non-parole period
