N.B. Copyright in this transcript is the property of the Crown. If this transcript is copied without the authority of the Attorney-General of the Northern Territory, proceedings for infringement will be taken.

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THE SUPREME COURT OF

THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

SCC 20207642

THE QUEEN

and

SCOTT RICHARD WHITE

(Sentence)

MARTIN CJ

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT DARWIN ON THURSDAY 12 JANUARY 2006

Transcribed by:

Court Recording Services (NT) Pty Ltd

HIS HONOUR: Mr White, you have pleaded guilty to intentionally disturbing the Legislative Assembly while the Assembly was in session. The maximum penalty for your offence is three years' imprisonment.

On 14 May 2002, in company with several other persons, you attended at the Legislative Assembly with the intention of protesting against proposed drug laws. After watching proceedings for a short time from the public gallery, you and other protestors entered the Chamber through a door which had been inadvertently left unlocked.

As you walked in one of your number yelled out 'police state'. You and others proceeded into the Chamber holding up and waving cardboard placards. Your role in the protest occupied less than a minute. You walked about the floor of the Chamber holding a placard and resisted an attempt by a security officer to remove the placard. It appears that you voluntarily desisted by leaving the Chamber while others continued the protest in a more vigorous fashion which included climbing on top of tables and chairs.

Parliamentary sittings were suspended for approximately 15 minutes. Some members left the Chamber while others remained and observed the activities of the protestors. Fortunately physical contact between protestors and security officers was of a limited nature and occurred after you had left the Chamber.

Mr White, you and others who participated in the process possessed the right to lawfully protest against laws with which you do not agree. However, I stress the word 'lawfully'. By entering the floor of the Assembly and disturbing the Legislative Assembly while it was in session, you and others crossed the boundary between lawful protest and illegal conduct.

While the offence is not prevalent, nevertheless it is a serious offence to disturb the Legislative Assembly and general deterrence is a significant aspect of the sentencing discretion. In addition, notwithstanding your changed personal circumstances and the fact that you no longer live in the Northern Territory, personal deterrence is also a significant factor. You are not contrite and I am satisfied that you still believe that your conduct was justified.

You are now aged 30. Prior to this occasion you had never been in trouble with the law. You are entitled to credit by way of mitigation for your prior good character.

It is unnecessary for me to outline the history of your personal circumstances, but it must be said that you are a person who over the years has demonstrated that you have a strong public conscience. That is to your credit. In fact you hold views so strongly that at times you act upon those views to the detriment of your family. That much is not to your credit.

Over the years you have worked in what might be said community type occupations to the benefit of the community. You have also spent time in the army and contributed to life saving activities. Obviously your involvement in the organisation of Network Against Prohibition brought about your political activities and resulted in you committing this offence. I am told that you have ceased being involved politically, but that cannot be entirely accurate because, as Ms Beggs has informed me, you stood at the last election.

However, I do accept that following your move to Tasmania you have been involved in a very limited way over the last months. You now live in Tasmania in a stable relationship with a woman who gave birth to your child at the end of January 2005. You are also stepfather to a 12-year old child who regards you as her father. I have a reference from your partner which not surprisingly speaks very highly of you.

It is a very helpful reference because it outlines what has happened since you moved to Tasmania and the stress associated with these proceedings. It must be said, however, that the stress associated with these proceedings has primarily been brought about by you. It was you who chose to challenge the validity of the proceedings in various ways, commencing with your challenge or your resisting the extradition.

The vast bulk of the stress and trauma associated with the proceedings could have been avoided if you had voluntarily returned to Darwin and pleaded guilty at the first reasonable opportunity in the Court of Summary Jurisdiction. In other words, Mr White, if you had accepted responsibility for your illegal activities at the first reasonable opportunity, you would have saved yourself, your family and your parents a great deal of stress and trauma.

What is apparent is that you are continuing to be a person with a public conscious and who is prepared to assist in the communities in which you live. I have references from people in Zeehan with whom you worked who indicate that you have provided very helpful service in different ways to their community. It speaks well of your underlying character.

I am confident that you are well motivated to continue with your community activities and that you will be a useful citizen in the future in the area in Tasmania in which you are living. You now have a job and you are already engaged in areas of community interest. I hope for your sake that my confidence is well placed.

I have had regard to the sentences imposed upon others with whom you entered the Chamber. While the fact that you were acting in company with others is an aggravating feature, nevertheless careful regard must be had to the role of each individual protestor, including you, in arriving at an appropriate penalty.

As I have said, your role lasted less than one minute and you voluntarily desisted involvement in the protest. You cooperated with the authorities by giving your correct name. Your role was similar to that of Mr Deacon, who on appeal against the original sentence was released on a bond to be of good behaviour for one year and to appear before the court if called upon during that period.

It must be said, however, that unlike you, Mr Deacon remained at the door and did not go down the stairs onto the floor of the Chamber. Mr Read frankly acknowledged on your behalf this morning that your role is more serious than that of Mr Deacon. In addition Mr Deacon acknowledged his wrongdoing at the first reasonable opportunity by pleading guilty in the Court of Summary Jurisdiction.

Your plea has come at a late stage and only after protracted proceedings and challenges to the validity of the legislation which are demonstrative of your lack of contrition. You are entitled to limited benefit only by reason of your plea. As the judge in the matter of Deacon said on the appeal when imposing sentence, 'You and your fellow protestors engaged in a blatant and intrusive disruption of Parliament'.

I regard your offending as more serious than that of Mr Deacon but significantly less serious than the offending of those who remained longer in the Chamber and aggravated their intrusion by standing on tables and chairs and resisting the efforts of security officers to remove them.

You are convicted. Had it not been for your plea of guilty I would have imposed a sentence of four months' imprisonment. After an appropriate deduction for your plea of guilty, I impose a sentence of 10 weeks' imprisonment.

The next step is to consider what period, if any, you should serve of that sentence. In this context it is important to give full weight to the very limited role that you played, your prior good character, your community work, your current personal circumstances and the four days that you have already spent in custody. Mr White, you must understand it was a very close run matter but it is the combination of those factors that has led me to the view that the appropriate course is to suspend that sentence immediately.

I repeat, it was a very close run. The sentence will be suspended immediately upon your entry into the bond in the amount of $1000 to be of good behaviour for a period of two years from today. That period of two years from today is the period during which no further offences are to be committed for the purposes of s 43 of the Sentencing Act.

In addition, it will be a condition of the suspension of the sentence that within a period of seven days from today you return to Tasmania. Secondly, for the period of two years from today you are not to have contact, directly or indirectly, with any of the other persons who were involved in the invasion of the Legislative Assembly, including Luke Stan Masters , Aaron Stallard-Bryce, Albert Andrew Tasman Deacon, Michael Lambe, Emma Birkeland Corro, Stuart Highway, Gary William Meyerhoff and Robert Paul Inder-Smith.

Thirdly, it is a condition of the suspension of the sentence that for the period of two years from today you not participate in any way in the activities of the Network Against Prohibition and that includes not being involved, directly or indirectly, in any activities on behalf of the Network Against Prohibition.

Mr White, I want to repeat what I have already said in one respect. You obviously have a number of admirable qualities in your personality, your character and your behaviour. Unfortunately you became misguided by going too far and crossing the boundary, as I said, between lawful protest and illegal conduct.

Do not blame the justice system for the stress and trauma that you have experienced. You brought that on yourself and the sooner you come to realise and accept that then the sooner you will find that you can be of great benefit to the community without bringing stress, trauma and distress to your partner, your children, your parents and others who are close to you.

So it is now, Mr White, all in your hands. If you break the terms of the bond you will find yourself not only back in court, but serving a term of imprisonment which would be no doubt very, very distressful to your family.

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