Network Against Prohibition (NAP) - NT Chapter

The following is an email by Meredith Delandelles, a NAP member, expressing her concern for her partner, fellow NAP member Scott White. Scott had been arrested at his home in Tasmania and extradited to the Northern Territory to stand trial for the parliament invasion. The email was sent out widely and a number of politicians received the email.

10 March 2003

 

Consequences of political  activism and questions  that need answering

by Meredith Delandelles 
 
 

 My name  is Meredith de Landelles, formerly of Darwin in the Northern Territory,  but now residing in Zeehan on the West Coast of Tasmania.  I am employed  as the Youth Health Worker on the West Coast  of Tasmania.

 

 On Wednesday the 5th of  March 2003 my fiancé, Scott White, was  arrested for extradition  to the Northern Territory from Tasmania to face  charges  relating to protest activities.

 

 Extradition  is usually reserved for perpetrators of violent crimes such  as murder or rape, yet Scott was extradited for (allegedly)  disturbing  the legislative assembly during a protest against  the Northern Territory  Labor Government’s draconian  Drug House Legislation and other lesser charges  including  a completely false charge of damaging business premises.

 

 Scott and I are now living in Tasmania. We  did not in any way try to pervert  the course of justice  by leaving the Northern Territory. I had applied  for a  job in January of 2002 (well before any Network Against Prohibition  actions had taken place) on the West Coast of Tasmania  and in July 2002  I had an interview for that job and decided  to accept the position.

 

 The reasons  for this were many and varied, but the most important of these  was the quality of life of our child. Scott and I did not  believe the  Northern Territory would enable her to grow  up with the right for thoughts  of her own without persecution.

 

 After arriving in Tasmania, Scott called  the Police Prosecutions department  of the Northern Territory  Police to inform them of our whereabouts. The  Northern  Territory Police has been in possession of our address and phone  numbers since October 2002. Scott told them during that  conversation that  we had little money for legal representation  and the Northern Territory&nb sp; Legal Aid had told him they  would not represent him unless he pleaded  guilty, which  he was not going to do.

 

 He told the  Police Prosecutions department that he wanted some time to  study legal process to enable him to defend himself competently.  Scott  freely gave them our address and phone numbers at  that time.

 

 After Scott was remanded  into the custody of Sergeant Hockings of the  Northern  Territory Police I asked the Sergeant why they didn’t call us  to inform us of a new court date so he could get there  himself rather  than go through the humiliation of an extradition.  We live in a very small  community where he holds the position  of Coordinator at the local Community  Centre. Sergeant  Hockings said, in a derogatory tone, "Oh he wouldn’t  have shown up".

 

 I told him that I am  Scott’s partner and know him better than anyone and   know what that he would indeed have presented to court under his  own steam  if given the opportunity. A simple $2 phone  call would have saved the  Northern Territory Tax Payers  thousands of dollars in extradition costs. 

 

 If he then did not appear before the Magistrate  extradition proceedings  may have been justified.

 

 We have a child, Ellienne (9), and two foster  children (aged 15 & 18) living with us who look up  to him as a father figure and as a positive  male role  model. This has been most distressing for them considering the  minor charges for which he was taken into custody. The behavioural  or  emotional challenges associated with young people who  have experienced  traumatic events and are in foster care  should be self evident.

 

 Stability and  certainty in their life and the world around them is imperative  if any effective intervention and positive change is going  to be achieved. 

 

 Extraditing  Scott has been totally destabilising for the entire family  and my child and foster children are displaying extreme mood  swings and  outbursts of aggression and depression since  being told of the situation. 

 

 They all insisted on attending the extradition hearing to show  support  and family unity.

 

 Scott also has a job as the coordinator of the Zeehan Neighbourhood  Centre,  is president of the Police and Citizens Youth  Club in Zeehan, and plays  an important role in building  community capacity within the local area.  He takes an  active role in community events and activities, and is a positive  male role model for some of the most disadvantaged youth  in the area.&nb sp;

 

 His current employer  has advised that his employment is not in jeopardy  and  he is fully supported by the Zeehan Neighbourhood Centre Inc. His  employer was aware of his status with the Northern Territory  Police before  he was extradited.

 

  It may appear to some that we moved for Scott to escape persecution  from  theNorthern Territory Police for protest activities  of which we were both  involved, yet if this was the case  we certainly wouldn’t be attending  protests here in  Tasmania which we have done on many occasions given the  abhorrent situation brewing in the Middle East and the continuing  inhumane  treatment of refugees by the Australian Government.

 

 It is my understanding that we live  in a democracy and that freedom of  speech and the right  to protest are fundamentals of a democracy. So is  the  right to information. I would like explanations for the following: 

 

 1. Why did the Northern Territory  Police extradite Scott White to the  Northern Territory  for charges related to protest activities which are  fundamental  rights in a democracy?

 

 2. Why does it  appear as though Sargent Hockings lied in the witness boxwhen  Scott was given the opportunity to ask him questions during  the extradition hearing? When Scott asked him why  he had not been issued with   a summons to answer the charges,  Sargent Hockings stated that all attempts  to locate Scott  White had proved fruitless. This is a lie as Scott had  called the Northern Territory Police Prosecutions to give them  our new  residential details in October 2002.

 

 3. How could someone who is contributing to his  local community to the  extent that Scott is here on the  West Coast of Tasmania, be extradited  for such minor offences?

 

 4. How could someone who has a fiancé,  child and two foster children,  stable employment, and  no previous convictions for any offences be extradited  for such minor offences?

 

 5. How can  freedom of speech and the right to protest not be fundamental  rights in the Northern Territory as they should be in any  democracy?

 

 6. How can the Northern Territory  Government justify spending Tax Payer  dollars on such  an expensive extradition procedure when there were much  less expensive alternatives that could have at least been attempted  first.? 

 

 7. Why does it appear  that this is a politically motivated decision by  a struggling  Northern Territory Labor Government?

 

 8. Why did the Northern Territory Government feel that it was appropriate  to extradite Scott three days before his birthday (11th  of March) which  was clearly printed on the warrants for  his arrested? This is cruel and  unusual punishment which  has devastated our family and the particular  need we have  for stability for the foster children we have taken in voluntarily.  To add to the devastation we are feeling, my birthday  was the day after  the extradition (9th of March).

 

 9. Why is the Northern Territory Government  so threatened by a non violent  protest group?

 

 10. When will I, and the other members of our  family here in Tasmania,  be able to see Scott again? Will  he be able to come back to live and work  with us in our  community while awaiting his court appearances? Does the  Government of the Northern Territory intend for Scott to lose   his employment  and destabilise the lives of young Australians  as punishment for disagreeing   with their draconian and  inhumane drug house legislation.

 

 11.  Why didn’t the Tasmanian Magistrates Court overturn such a ridiculous  and obviously politically motivated extradition?

 

 12. Why was Scott unable to complete his statement  during his extradition  hearing? He was told by Magistrate  Tim Hill that he did not want to hear  a political statement.  As this was directly related to the extradition  charges  it should have been admissible and taken into consideration.

 

 13. A CIB detective with the Tasmanian Police  told me any contact with  Scott was at Sargent Hockings  discretion and I had to be nice to him if  we wanted to  be able say goodbye to Scott. Why did I have to "be  nice"  to Sargent Hockings so I, and my children, could spend some  time with Scott before he was sent to Darwin? I would have  thought that  would be a basic human right. Why did my  9 year old daughter need to be  searched before she saw  him? I feel that is a total invasion of her rights  as   a child and of my right as a parent to keep my child safe.

 

 I believe detailed explanations to the above  queries would make it easier  for me to accept this situation  and explain it to my child and foster  children.

 

 I fear that we do not live in the democracy  we think we do. I don’t believe  that any of the actions  taken against non violent protesters in the Northern  Territory  were warranted, nor do I believe an extradition is warranted  for these offences. I too have been arrested in the Northern  Territory  for protest activities. In my situation I was  sitting on a box watching&nbs p; other people engage in protest  activities at a tent embassy outside Parliament  House  in Darwin. I was asked to leave and I explained to the officers  on numerous occasions that I was only watching and not  participating in  any way, and that I had the permission  of an aboriginal elder of the Larrakeyah  people, the traditional  owners of the land, to be there.

 

 I was  then dragged along the grass painfully while I was telling them  I had to walk slowly because of a tropical ulcer on my  foot which they   broke open due to their excessively rough  handling. My ulcer breaking  open and coming into contact  with the bare ground was quite dangerous  due to a soil  disease prevalent in Darwin which is lethal. As I had kept  ask ing the police to slow down, told them the reason why and  they didn’t,  I believe they intentionally put me at  risk of the soil disease.

 

 I was grabbed  by the throat and pushed into the back of a police van when  I asked if I could make sure my 9 year old daughter was with  her partner  and could get home safely. I was put into  the cells at Berrimah Police  Station for 3 ½ hours and  was not allowed to change my tampon in  privacy (and I  therefore refused to change it and I was put at risk  of toxic shock syndrome by the Northern Territory Police Force). 

 

 All this for sitting on a  box and watching protest activity. Will I be  extradited  as well?

 

 We are a normal family with  kids, pets, schools, jobs and a mortgage.  We try to have  as small an impact on our environment as we can and live   with an environmental conscience. We both work in the community  welfare  system and believe that human rights and social  justice are the basis  of a equitable society, and working  in the welfare system only strengthens  our beliefs. We  stand up for what we believe is wrong. Should we, and  the children who live with us, suffer for this?

 

 I fear for Scott’s safety in the Northern Territory. I  fear persecution  and violence may be perpetrated against  Scott in the hands of the Northern  Territory Police Force.  This is a very distressing period for our family  and I  would appreciate a response as soon as possible so we can start  getting our lives into perspective once again. Please  help us to understand&nbsp ; how what has happened fits into  the just and democratic society we are  told we live in  - that we want to live in.

 

 Sincerely

 

 ____________________________________

 

 Meredith de Landelles

 Youth Health Worker

 West Coast Health & Community  Services

 Phone: 0364735123

 Mobile: 0419551656

 Fax: 0364735125