Environmentalist Bob Brown has been found guilty of trespassing during a protest against logging near Snow Hill, Tasmania. Source: Pulse Tasmania, The Mercury
Brown, 79, along with Karen Weldrick, 64 and Kristy Alger, 42, appeared in the Hobart Magistrates Court on Monday over the incident on November 8, 2022.
The trio was arrested while protesting against logging by Sustainable Timber Tasmania in the state’s north-east, an area they claimed was crucial habitat for the endangered swift parrot.
The group claimed the area was crucial habitat for the endangered swift parrot and that logging operations were harming the bird’s survival.
All three pleaded not guilty to their charge, arguing the logging was illegal due to noncompliance with a forest practices plan.
Brown said he saw a swift parrot fly overhead while he was being arrested.
Weldrick and Alger were arrested after chaining themselves to logging machinery.
The Magistrate found the evidence presented by the Bob Brown Foundation insufficient and ruled there was no evidence the logging was illegal.
She also rejected the trio’s argument that their actions constituted a ‘safe, peaceful, non-obstructive protest on an issue of public importance’, stating that it was ‘neither safe nor unobstructive’.
The Mercury reported that in her published reasons for her decision, Ms Hartnett said there was insufficient evidence of this provided by the Bob Brown Foundation and found there was no evidence that the harvesting was unlawful.
Ms Hartnett was also not convinced by other arguments made on behalf of Brown, including that he had a reasonable and genuine belief he was located outside of the logging coupe when he was approached to leave by two police officers.
She said while she found Brown “argumentative and not willing to make reasonable concessions” during the hearing, she agreed his belief had been genuine.
However, she found his excuse to not be “objectively reasonable”.
Ms Hartnett also rejected the former Senator and Greens leader’s argument that his actions had a reasonable excuse, that his actions were “safe, peaceful, non-obstructive protest on an issue of public importance”.
She said it was neither a safe nor unobstructive protest.
“We’re back in a week or so to be sentenced for being found guilty, but I will be appealing,” Brown said outside court.
“I’m going to appeal to the Australian public to join us for more peaceful forest protests in defence of the forests, where governments under the impress of big corporations won’t make that stand.”
“Jail has no terror like the destruction of this world’s nature. And it’s up to us in our time to stop that destruction.”
It is expected the trio will be sentenced on August 14.
