A man with a lengthy criminal record has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for his role in a violent late-night assault on a Hobart taxi driver outside the victim’s family home.
Wade Mackenzie, 36, was found guilty of assault over the August 2020 incident. Mackenzie and two friends attacked the driver after arranging to collect a phone that had been left in the cab.
The Supreme Court heard the situation escalated when the driver asked to be paid the outstanding fare before handing the phone back.
Justice Michael Brett described the attack as “brutal and cowardly”, noting it took place in front of the driver’s family and his four-year-old child.
“It is clear to me that it was never your intention to pay him anything and that you were determined to get the phone off him,” Justice Brett told Mackenzie during sentencing.
The court heard evidence from the taxi driver’s wife, who witnessed much of the assault.
She described how one of Mackenzie’s friends dragged her husband outside, where all three men began beating him.
They punched and repeatedly kicked him, with many blows landing to his head and left him in need of hospitalisation.
His wife tried to shield him during the attack, while their young child was “manhandled” by one of the offenders.
The court heard Mackenzie had been offending since age eight, with convictions across Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland, including numerous violent offences.
At the time of the assault, he was already serving a suspended sentence for breaching a family violence order.
Since then, Mackenzie has been sentenced for attempted aggravated carjacking against a 71-year-old woman in 2022 and received three years’ jail in October 2024 for aggravated burglary and armed robbery.
The court was told Mackenzie has struggled with drug issues for many years and has been undergoing counselling while in custody.
Justice Brett said one of Mackenzie’s co-accused was sentenced to 18-months in prison, while another received an 18-month home detention order.
“A sentence which emphasises general deterrence and denunciation is called for,” he said.
Mackenzie’s 14-month jail term will be served on top of his current sentence. He will be eligible for parole after serving eight months of the new term.
