The Bush Lawyer's book
In December 2004, forestry giant Gunns Ltd sued Bob Brown,
The Wilderness Society and eighteen other environmentalists as a result of the
campaign to protect Tasmania’s forests. During the next five years, Gunns
suffered a series of legal losses and capitulated against many of the
defendants, paying them over $1m in costs. It was left with an expensive rump of
a case against a handful of defendants.
This book tells the inside story of the defence of the
Gunns 20 case and of a number of other similar, but no less dangerous, law
suits.
In a personal account of more than a decade defending
so-called “SLAPP suits” over the Hindmarsh Island bridge, battery hens and the
Tasmanian forests, this book tells the history of the cases and
their impact on the defendants and the community. It illustrates the effect of
such litigation on free speech and political protest, and makes a call for law
reform to ensure that these incursions on civil liberties never happen again.
To purchase Gagged: The Gunns 20 and other law
suits on line go to:
http://www.envirobook.com.au/Publishing/publishing.htm
144 pages RRP $22.95
Or order it from your local bookshop:
ISBN 978 0 85881 1 229 1
Comments on the book
“This is a compelling story of big
corporations, pompous lawyers, stuffy judges and brave individuals that is told
in an engaging and entertaining way. In relating the sometimes enraging,
sometimes hilarious twists and turns of the legal cases, Ogle candidly reveals
the impacts on his own personal life and political philosophy. This is a great
contribution to public debate in Australia and an empowering read for anyone
campaigning for the environment or human rights.”
Geoff Law, adventurer, conservationist, defendant.
“I spent over 4 years being sued by Gunns, but reading
this book was the first time I really knew what had happened in a court case
often too complicated for even the defendants to understand.
There is a dry wit in this easily digestible tale which successfully
marries the details of the legal cases with the broader perspective of
Australians’ right to freedom of speech.”
Heidi Douglas, film maker, defendant.
Reviews
Brian Martin, "Book Review: Gagged" in
The Whistle, No. 61, January 2010.
PostScript
Gagged was completed in about September 2009. At that time
there were six defendants remaining in the original case, and Frank Nicklason
defending the now separate defamation case. At the time I wrote:
I don’t know if that [Gunns 20] case, or the case against
Frank Nicklason, will actually get to trial, [but] apart from the very real
impact on the defendants, I don’t think any trial outcome matters to my main
argument. The central issue was never about the merits of the case, but rather
that it should never have been in court. The effect of the case on people, on
political protest and public debate were felt long before a trial. I may be
surprised, but I can see no conceivable trial outcome that would change that
argument.
There was no trial outcome. On 9 October 2009, Frank Nicklason settled with
an apology for not going to Gunns before going to the media (not an apology for
the content of what he said) and
promptly re-stated his objections. There were
no winners. Two defendants in original case,
Louise Morris and Neal Funnel gave limited undertakings and exited the case in
late November 2009, meaning the only claims left in the case related to a couple
of protests at Lucaston in 2003. On the eve of the scheduled trial (2 February
2010), Gunns settled these claims as well, paying the defendants $155,000 for
their trouble. The dynamics leading to settlement were not very different from
The Wilderness Society settlement described in the book, but if anything
Gunns was under more pressure. We celebrated,
and the best end of case summary was probably the
carton in the
Hobart Mercury. |
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