A Tasmanian mother who drove repeatedly with methamphetamine and cocaine in her system has failed to have her sentence overturned, with a judge ruling public safety must come first.
Kayla Anne Norris appealed against her sentence on grounds it was “manifestly excessive”.
Supreme Court Justice Michael Brett dismissed the challenge last week, finding the driving ban was actually on the “lenient” side given mandatory minimums under Tasmanian law.
Norris had pleaded guilty to four counts of driving with illicit drugs in her oral fluid and two counts of driving while disqualified.
The offences took place across north-west Tasmania between February and November 2024, with police detecting methamphetamine, amphetamine and cocaine during traffic stops in Penguin, West Ulverstone and Devonport.
She kept driving after being hit with a disqualification notice in August 2024. Her car was eventually clamped.
A magistrate sentenced her to six weeks jail, wholly suspended for two years, banned her from driving for two years and five months and imposed a $600 penalty.
Appearing without a lawyer at her appeal, Norris told the court her real concern was how the driving ban affected her ability to care for her two children, aged 11 and 5, who both have autism.
The court heard Norris had a troubled history including a serious crash at 17, lifelong depression and anxiety and family violence in a former relationship.
Her lawyer told the original sentencing hearing the trauma drove her drug use, which became “significant and uncontrolled” during the offending period. She had it under control by early 2025.
But Justice Brett was unmoved.
“As with drink driving, driving while an illicit drug is present in the driver’s body is behaviour that directly impacts on the safety of other road users as well as the perpetrator and any passengers,” he said.
“The need to promote and support public safety is the paramount consideration when sentencing for such offences.”
