I breathed a sigh of relief when I found out that Tasmania Police were withdrawing their claim for costs from the Weld Valley forest activist and 'angel' Alanna Beltram. But the relief didn't last long - the Police Commissioner said he wants to change the laws so that police can regularly charge forest activists for the costs of attending protests! And Forestry Tasmania are still pursuing their compensation claim, obviously having learnt a few lessons from Gunns about how to tie activists up in ongoing court cases. These people (Gunns 20 defendants and our Weld Angel) are highly respected by many in Tasmania for devoting themselves to saving our precious old-growth forests from profit-driven destruction. We cannot stand by and watch the authorities further erode our civil liberties. It should not become possible for the police to determine that a healthy democracy is something that we cannot afford. That is when we become a police state.
Susan Austin
Socialist Alliance candidate for Denison
Note: See http://www.greenleft.org.au/2007/727/37711 for latest article by Susan Austin "Weld Angel faces Court"
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