Former taxi driver who machete attack passenger gets 6 years

A former WA taxi driver who attacked a passenger with a machete has been sentenced to six years behind bars.

James Michael Greenup was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to Geraldton resident Charlie Collard in the early hours of March 21 last year.

Greenup drove Mr Collard and two other people from the Freemason's Hotel to the Broadwater Resort and became aggressive when Mr Collard said he wanted to continue to Glenfield.

An argument over the fare ensued, with Mr Collard telling Geraldton District Court that the 52-year-old driver pulled out a knife and said: Meet my friend, Mr Machete. Greenup then cut Mr Collard's throat with the 64 cm blade, with the victim saying blood had flown like a water pistol. He required emergency surgery to repair a jugular vein, spending three days in intensive care at Royal Perth Hospital.

When arrested by police, Greenup told detectives he never carried weapons in his taxi and denied attacking Collard.

He was charged with a murder charge when police found a machete smeared with Mr Collard's blood under a couch in Mr Greenup's home.

The taxi driver later admitted he had been holding a machete when it struck Mr Collard's throat.

He denied that this had been intentional and claimed he didn't know his passenger was wounded when he left Mr Collard at the scene.

He also claimed that he kept the blade in the car for self-defence and had feared for his life when Mr Collard started punching him.

The jury rejected this claim, with Judge Fiona Vernon finding that the attack had been unprovoked and Mr Collard hadn't touched Greenup.

Greenup, who appeared in court on Wednesday on a video link from Hakea Prison, claimed he was receiving threats in custody.

He regretted the harm he caused Mr Collard and wished he could turn back time. Judge Vernon said Greenup had displayed no remorse for his actions during the trial and had instead made racial slurs against Mr Collard's family when the jury delivered their verdict.

She said Greenup displayed a callous disregard for Mr Collard's welfare and it was possible that he was quicker to take offence from an indigenous person than a non-Indigenous passenger.

Defence counsel George Giudice told the court Greenup had refused to contact his lawyer after entering custody, but he did not say he was remorseful.

When the sentence was delivered, Collard was not in court, but his loved ones appeared relieved at the outcome.

Greenup shook his head during Judge Vernon's sentencing remarks, saying he didn't understand why he was in custody.

He must serve four years before he can be eligible for parole. He will be disbanded from being within 25 metres of Mr Collard, because of a violence restraining order.