'Activist' remanded

Zeehan man extradited to Darwin to answer charges

A Zeehan man who yesterday told the Devonport Magistrates Court his only crime was being a "political activist" has been extradited from Tasmania to face three charges in Darwin on Monday.

Former Darwin resident Scott Richard White (27), of Westwood St, has been charged with disturbing the Legislative Assembly, breach of bail and unlawfully entering and damaging business premises.

The charges relate to an incident at Parliament House in Darwin in May last year.

White and 10 others entered Parliament House in Protest against the Northern Territory's controversial Drug House legislation.

Yesterday Magistrate Tim Hill remanded White into the custody of Northern Territory police officer Det. Sgt Andrew Hocking.

White, who elected to appear unrepresented, asked Mr Hill to grant bail and adjourn the case for a month so he could mount a defence.

"I ask that latitude be given. I am neither an expert in law or court process. My crime is to be a political activist," White said.

The accused then asked Mr Hill if he could ask Sgt Hocking some questions in court.

"Why was I not arrested on the date of the offence?" White asked.

Det. Sgt Hocking said he did not know.

White then asked Det. Sgt Hocking to outline what had been damaged in the protest and why he had not been issued with a summons to answer the charges.

"I don't know," Det. Sgt Hocking said in relation to the damage but said all attempts to locate White had proved fruitless.

"It seems to me that the only power I have is to adjourn proceedings to a date in Darwin. The only issue is if I bail you or remand you in custody," Mr Hill said.

White was remanded into custody to appear in Darwin on Monday.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Sat, 08 March 2003
Source: The Advocate (Tasmania, Australia)
Author: Helen Kempton
Page: 3
Website: http://ta.harrisgroup.com.au/
Email: letters@theadvocate.com.au
Copyright: 2003 The Advocate Newspaper Pty Ltd