Five activists arrested during recent protests over AGL’s Gloucester coal seam gas project have escaped criminal convictions.
A magistrate dismissed charges against members of the group in Gloucester Local Court yesterday but put them all on 6 month good behaviour bonds.
Another four protestors, who’ve pleaded not guilty, will reappear on the 12th of February.
It’s alleged they disrupted AGL’s progress by blocking driveways and chaining themselves to machinery.
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The police put so much of their time and resources into arresting people at blockades. I don’t know why they bother.
They have to do a whole lot of paper work after the arrests, yet when the cases get to court, the charges never stick.
The defendants were simply exercising their right to peacefully protest, a totally lawful thing to do.
What’s scary is that the Abbott government is seeking to curtail that right.