Hot topics: australia, sport, nsw, government-and-politics, law-crime-and-justice, united-states, federal-elections, qld, courts-and-trials, vic

Magistrate to consider bridge protest charges

Posted November 21, 2007 14:00:00

The men who climbed the Batman Bridge in Northern Tasmania to protest againth the propose Gunn's pulp mill last month have faced court in Launceston.

The three men were charged in the Launceston magistrates Court with one count each of trespass of a structure and one count each of wilfully obstructing a police officer.

One of the protesters, Sam Thompson told Chief Magistrate Arnold Shott the group had not intended to be disruptive or unsafe, but felt they had no other way of getting their message across.

Thompson, Holger Strie and Andrew Larner climbed to the top of Batman Bridge on October 17 and remained there for several hours, hanging a banner saying 'Save our valley for the kids' in reference to the Gunns pulp mill.

Magistrate Shott told the defendants he wanted time to consider the charges against them, and ordered them to reappear on Tuesday.

Tags: courts-and-trials, tas, george-town-7253, launceston-7250

ABC News Online Investigative Unit

The ABC News Online Investigative Unit encourages whistleblowers, and others with access to information they believe should be revealed for the public good, to contact us.

  1. Alain Robert Sticky situation

    A stuntman, known as the French Spiderman, has denied putting lives at risk by scaling a Sydney building.

  2. A pack of wild camels hoard near a leaking water tap in the Northern Territory Desert dish

    The Camel Industry Association is working on a plan to make camel meat a regular addition to the Australian dinner table.

  3. Pleated silk wedding dress and coat Wedded bliss

    Bendigo will host a world premiere exhibition of wedding dresses from London's Victoria and Albert Museum in 2011.

  4. Khan: Pakistan has 'our most corrupt government' Video Imran Khan

    In a wide-ranging interview, Imran Khan says lifetime bans for spot-fixing in cricket would be out of proportion.