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=20

Justice, democracy and letting off flares

Steve Biddulph
(I think O=E2=80=99Byrne, = already famous for=20 being the most invisible representative Bass has ever elected, should = pay=20 Clive=E2=80=99s fine, and apologize for putting him in such acute = distress. She is=20 fulsomely paid to represent Launceston. As someone who voted for = the Pulp=20 Mill Assessment Act, so widely condemned in legal and community circles = for=20 corrupting normal planning and therefore democratic process itself, she = is=20 morally and ethically tainted forever.)

A GROUP of us went to court today, to support Clive Stott who had = been=20 charged with creating a public nuisance.

To sum up the story, Clive suffered horrendous health problems, with = multiple=20 hospitalizations, blood clots in leg and both lungs, and permanent = impairment,=20 after a prolonged asthma attack brought on by forestry burns carried out = this=20 autumn which blanketed the state with smoke for several weeks.

A lifetime asthma sufferer, the 60 year old former health engineer = had made=20 numerous attempts to meet with Michelle O=E2=80=99Byrne, his elected = representative,=20 Clive has become a clean air campaigner and de facto advocate for the = 40,000=20 asthma sufferers around the state. Tasmania has 30% higher asthma = rates=20 than any other state.

The Magistrates court was an education. Lawyers murmured = arcanely and=20 shuffled papers, while a parade of miscreants came in and out, often = within=20 seconds.

Had you been expecting that Launceston=E2=80=99s offenders were the = cruel and=20 cunning, you would have been saddened and surprised,

They were more the damaged and desperate. Poor, not very = bright, some=20 in fact bordering on mental retardation, they looked like people who = needed a=20 mother, rather than a judge.

You had to wonder if their encounters with the law were having any = effect=20 against their life conditions and the lack of wisdom or example that put = them=20 there.

Clive of course was a whole different kettle of fish. The judge = acknowledged his lifetime of public service. That his situation = had been=20 one of acute distress and frustration.

But =E2=80=9Cthe law must prevail, and there are other ways to = protest=E2=80=9D, and fined=20 him $320.

Was Clive right or wrong to let off a non-toxic, harmless smoke flare = in the=20 offices of Michelle O=E2=80=99Byrne, when for the third time she had = failed to agree to=20 meet with him ? For someone who had suffered weeks of painful and=20 frightening hospital admissionsand desperate medical procedures to pull = him back=20 from the brink (see Clive=E2=80=99s website http://www.cleanairtas.com/ for = more=20 details) I wouldn=E2=80=99t want to judge.

The resulting fire alarm shut down a large government office building = for=20 about an hour, emergency services attended, there was a police=20 investigation. It probably cost the taxpayer quite a bit. If = O=E2=80=99Byrne=20 had been doing her job, this would never have happened. If we had = a=20 responsive and investigative media, then this issue could have been = explored=20 without recourse to protest. If we lived in a state where forestry = was not=20 priveleged, above health, planning, safety and other laws, then it would = never=20 have arisen.

(I think O=E2=80=99Byrne, already famous for being the most invisible = representative=20 Bass has ever elected, should pay Clive=E2=80=99s fine, and apologize = for putting him in=20 such acute distress. She is fulsomely paid to represent = Launceston. As=20 someone who voted for the Pulp Mill Assessment Act, so widely condemned = in legal=20 and community circles for corrupting normal planning and therefore = democratic=20 process itself, she is morally and ethically tainted forever.)

The judge argued that there are better ways to protest. = Perhaps. If you=20 have time, patience, support, and resources. Clive was desperate = and=20 despairing. But he is in a great tradition. Democracy depends on = people=20 respecting the law, but being prepared to break those laws that stand in = the way=20 of just and ethical action. Without this careful and selective = willingness=20 to transgress, we would still have the laws of the 17th century. =

Progress depends on civil disobedience at crucial moments, and when = all else=20 has been tried and failed.

In the tradition of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and back to Christ = himself,=20 standing up to the abuse of power, and being willing to take the = consequences,=20 is our responsibility as
citizens and as human beings.

Thanks to fellow Tappers for being there. Clive=E2=80=99s fine = was paid by some=20 of us so as to express our support and appreciation. Perhaps we = should=20 write to Michelle O=E2=80=99Byrne to ask her to contribute? =

Steve=20 Biddulph

Read comments (1) and respond to this article = here

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