Welcome to the first instalment of ...
This
document does not pretend to be authoritative.I have not dealt with
many engineering details ‑‑ rope, safe working loads,
lashings, hitches etc. Some of these can be found in the appendix
though.
Err
on the safe side. If it looks a bit dodgy, it probably is, so fix
it !
If
you have any corrections, suggestions or additions please tack them
on and keep them moving through the system
Author: Anon
CONTENTS:
1 ‑Introduction
8 ‑The
monopole and Star‑of David
9 ‑some
other possible Blocks on the Roads to ruin
11 ‑The Deluxe Sleeping Dragon
14 ‑The Black Wallaby Technique
15 ‑The Scrub Wallaby Technique
Appendix
(1)
INTRODUCTION
Bad
forestry can be stopped. By a combination of political, legal and media
campaigning and the good old non violent, civilly disobedient blockade.
Physical
blockading of a forest operation should:
- Directly
stop or slow logging;
- Create
expense and inconvenience for the government that administers the
logging;
- provide
a visual focus for media coverage of the issue.
Blockading
CANNOT SAVE EVERY TREE. Don't waste your emotional energy on lamenting
this failure !
Blockading
is ultimately about people getting in the way.
Thanks
to our liberal laws the police have to remove them without unnecessary
harm. This takes time and care. Blockading devices are about making
people difficult to remove.
When
people are removed they will generally be arrested. In North East New
South Wales the charges may include:
‑ obstructing a public road ( Motor Traffic Act)
‑ hindering police ( Crimes Act, summary);
‑ entering and/or refusing to leave a prohibited area (
Forestry Act);
. resisting arrest ( Crimes Act ‑ resulting from overenthusiastic
struggling - NOT WORTH THE EFFORT !)
. assault (Crimes Act ‑ easily avoided by NOT DOING
‑ other states may have specific laws or regulations against
hindering forest operations.
Victoria
and Tasmania have laws specifically designed to stop blockades under
those states' Forestry Acts.
In
South East New South Wales, in July '93 some protesters were
Others
in North East New South Wales await trial on these charges and the
S.E. people are appealing.
This
section deals with offences such as "Watching and Besetting",
"Intimation" and "Unlawfully Obstructing others from
Carrying Out their Lawful Activities": conviction may attract
At
the time of writing the legal situation regarding section 545 was
unclear ‑ watch yourself !
On
a happier note: if you're a clean‑skin and come across nice
to the judge you can ask for a "556A" i.e. penalty imposed
but no convictions recorded. Note that fines can be converted to community
service, particularly if you're one of the poor suffering unemployed.
You
must be aware of the consequences of your actions before you do them
‑ get advice and be aware of police procedures. ( it makes them
much less scary) ‑ make sure someone (not an arrestee) keeps
track of you and organises any bail and a lift from the station
on release.
If
you're giving your real name carry some I.D. to smooth the way. If
you're giving a false name DON'T carry straight I.D. – Stupid!
Don’t
carry dope ! !
Carry
the names and phone numbers of your organisations legal people and
remember: Name, Rank and Serial number (Address and date of Birth ). “I do not wish
to make any statement until I have had legal ice, thank you, officer.”
NOTE:
I am not a lawyer, just an enthusiastic amateur. The above advice
is probably about right, but NOT to be relied upon ! or quoted !
All
these offences may attract bail conditions which put the arrestee
( hereafter referred to as "The Bunny", sorry ) out of action.
All
of these offences can cost money and inconvenience in court and do
not look good on your police record.
All
of these offences demonstrate the outrage of the intelligent public
and allow you to say so in court. Who knows, you might even get
off!
For
the bad guys: blockading is a cost; logging is a benefit. For the
good guys: arrest is a cost; blockading is a benefit.
We've
all heard about cost/benefit analysis. The sums are what it’s all
about.
If
you spend ten minutes standing in front of a log truck, screaming
abuse, and then get into a scrap with the first cop that comes along,
you might feel pretty flash! You'll also run up string of convictions
that won't glow on your C.V. and achieve f‑all!
If
you spend all day being tediously removed from some device by a team
of fifteen police, watched by bored Jinker drivers, then you have
had a WIN!
Better
yet if this is observed by associated journalists and camera operators
who are impressed with your novelty, civility,
With
ALL DEVICES -remember: easy and cheap to assemble! difficult and expensive
to disassemble!
All
the following ideas are for NON VIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE CAMPAIGNS.
Any
fool can wreck dozers, burn mills and flatten truck tyres etc. By
doing these things you will hurt people, destroy hard earned property,
and get yourself and the conservation movement in deep sh!t. If you
insist on doing these things you are on your own. So make sure everyone
knows it, i.e. do it somewhere else.
group.
E.g. if you give the cops the sh!ts, they'll have the sh!ts with EVERYONE.
You
owe it to the group to keep your head together, and keep your shirt
on.
