Today in the Burnie Magistrates Court, Magistrate Leanne Topfer dismissed six trespass charges against five activists after the prosecution opted to tender no evidence and failed to make oral arguments on their application to substitute charges.
This followed the dismissal of a further 22 charges against 21 activists in February 2025, when, again, police failed to tender evidence to the court. The trespass charges all relate to peaceful protests between January and March 2024, when citizens entered public forests to protest the logging of remnant rainforest in Meunna, and were laid despite the protestors complying with all directions from police on site.
In June 2024, the Supreme Court set aside unlawful prohibition notices issued by Forestry Tasmania against the same activists that would have permanently prevented them from entering public forests or using Forestry Tasmania-managed roads, including where such roads accessed private property or public reserves.
Costs orders in the prohibition notices matter were made against Forestry Tasmania, and Magistrate Topfer has adjourned the matter of costs in the dismissed trespass matters after lawyers for the defendants made an application on the grounds of abuse of process by the prosecution.
“Twenty-eight charges dismissed against 26 members of the public, two years of court time wasted, and unnecessary legal costs borne by the taxpayer. This has been a two-year-long abuse of powers, and a deliberate waste of an already overloaded court’s time in order to frighten members of the public away from taking peaceful protest action that is their democratic right in a free society,” said acquitted co-defendant and Bob Brown Foundation Campaigner Scott Jordan.
“For two years, these citizens have been dragged through dozens of court hearings with inexcusable delays as the prosecution has failed to tender evidence to allow the matter to be resolved. They carefully protested in ways that did not break the law, including the government’s 2022 anti-protest laws, and yet they have been subjected to trumped-up charges that the prosecution was not prepared to tender evidence on, yet were dragged through an unnecessary two years of court delays. This is a frustrated Government weaponising police against peaceful protestors and using the court processes as the punishment”.
“Throughout this process, we have seen misrepresentations by Forestry Tasmania to police as to the lawful status of the land, and police disclosure of private information of protestors to Forestry Tasmania in breach of the Personal Information Protection Act. This ordeal can only be seen as multiple travesties against procedural fairness, citizens’ rights and the rule of law.”
“There needs to be an independent public inquiry into the conduct of Tasmania Police and Forestry Tasmania in this matter.”
Minister Felix Ellis is Minister for Resources (overseeing Forestry Tasmania) and Minister for Police.
