This headlining beat up was released the day before we were sentenced.

The intent was to cause us as much harm as possible.

In 13 years I've never seen such a biased and contrived piece delivered by the NT News, even when murderers and child molesters, etc... were facing sentencing.

Jail my son By Edith Bevin and Bob Watt June 4, 2003

 

A mother was last night upset that her son had escaped prison for invading the Territory parliament.

Sue St James, 44, said Luke Masters deserved time behind bars.

"I love him - but the legal system has let him get away with this,'' she said.

Masters was one of seven people who invaded parliament during a sitting in Darwin in May last year.

He pleaded guilty and was convicted and released on a bond yesterday.

Ms St James said her 17-year-old son Troy lives with him and she was worried about the older brother's influence on him.

"Luke needed jail or at least home detention not just a slap on the wrist,'' she said.

She said Masters and his friends had a `"massive party'' last month after magistrate Dick Wallace told him he would not be jailed when he appeared for sentencing yesterday.

"He needed jail to scare him,'' Ms St James said.

"If the courts keep giving them everything they want they'll become like spoilt children they will become harder and harder to discipline.''

Magistrate Dick Wallace said he thought the participation of Luke Stan Masters, 20, was similar to that of Albert Tasman Deacon, who pleaded guilty last year.

Deacon was given a jail sentence but after an appeal to the Supreme Court, Justice Sally Thomas quashed it, ordering Deacon's release on a $500, one-year good behaviour bond.

Mr Wallace also released Masters to a $500, one-year good behaviour bond with a $40 victim levy.

But he also ordered him to do 120 hours' community service, to be completed before August 29.

He noted that Masters, to his credit, was already doing voluntary work three days a week.

"Notwithstanding the seriousness of the offence, your part does not deserve a greater penalty than Deacon,'' the magistrate said.

Like Deacon, he was "recruited'' only that day and came to a stop in the Assembly when he realised the significance of the situation.

But Masters continued on with the hearing for some time, "perhaps out of misguided loyalty to your confederates'', so he should do the community service to make up for what he did.

Outside the court, Masters said he thought the sentence was fair and the magistrate "a good fellow''.

Northern Territory News

The NT News had a month to do this (non) story, but chose to publish and headline it on the eve of our sentencing.

They contacted us for Luke's address but we refused to assist with our persecution. Another friend was present at the 'interview', which was described as pretty much on a par with this contrived effort.

Response

De Vine: Politicians sometimes invite contempt.

They can say silly things; they can use taxpayers' money as if it was their own; and they can speak with forked tongues.

But a healthy cynicism towards politicians should never translate into contempt for parliament.

Without meaning to sound too corny, parliament in a democracy is the people's chamber.

Mick: Even if that parliament is built on stolen land from the proceeds of genocide? Aborigines are people.

De Vine: And what is a democracy if not the people organised?

Mick: And what is Fascism if not the people organised?

De Vine: Invading parliament is an affront to democracy and ordinary voters.

Mick: Pity no-one invaded Hitler's parliament. Imprisoning peaceful protesters is an affront to democracy.

De Vine: The pro-drug campaigners who barged into the Territory Parliament and paraded around the Assembly floor like petulant schoolchildren have been jailed.

They like to portray themselves as some kind of freedom fighters.

They are nothing of the sort. They are arrogant, middle-class louts who deserve every minute of their jail terms.

Mick: This repetition of lies regarding our 'class' and the Editor's inherent bias regarding said, is a De Vine editorial trait, popularised by Goebbels - "This ability to believe is rather weak in some circles, above all in those with money and education. They may trust more in pure cold reason than a glowing idealistic heart. Our so-called intellectuals do not like to hear this, but it is true anyway."

http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/goeb16.htm

These attempts to portray us as 'middle-class' have been addressed -

De Vine: It is a cruel irony that they were able to use the very democratic institutions they obviously despise to spout their nonsense.

Mick: It is a cruel irony, that the Courts, Police, politicians and media (in particular the NT News) which pervert democracy here, have the power to punish those that point it out.

De Vine: The fact that the invasion took place as a family waited to hear eulogies from the Assembly floor to one of their loved ones only amplified the offence.

Mick: More lies...

...their offensiveness, "amplified" by De Vine's fake compassion for Aboriginal people.

De Vine: Labor Lands and Planning Minister Kon Vatskalis, who was brought up during the tyranny of the generals in his native Greece, sums it up best when he says: "Only fascists invade parliament."

Mick: In two interviews with the ABC and a commercial network - I pointed out in reply to Kon's remark, "If this is fascism - what on earth do you call what we've been through?"

The footage of Police assaulting me was used to punctuate my televised argument.

In fairness to the 'NT News' per se, the lies and distortions that Brett De Vine employs, are not respected by all of the NT News staff.

The articles quoted above regarding the 'invasion' were sent to the Editor and reporters over a year ago. There can be no excuse for the 'Editor's' bias and misinformation.