This morning at 9:30am, Bryan Law will face off Cairns MP Desley Boyle.Everyone is welcome to the battle of Bryan and Goliath. The Cairns Courthouse in Sheridan Street will be the stage.
Well, Desley won't be showing up, well, she's rather busy somewhere down on the waterfront looking for her dignity.In a turn-around from Boyle's pre-election stance on the issue, where she said "I'm happy to use my signs" when questioned by Channel 7 on March 11th, when she was happy for Bryan Law to use her signs.
"I'm happy either way," Bryan Law said. "I have arguments to run in court based on the Electoral Act and citizens rights, if she wants. Desley has decided not to make a complaint or press charges. I assume because a day in Court will increase the pressure on her to be accountable," Bryan Law said at the time.
However it was clear that the Labor camp didn't want the issue of the Yacht Club's destruction to be debated in Court in the last two weeks of the election campaign, so, like announcing the Wild River legislation, they waited till after the election to charge Bryan Law.
He's up on the charge of Wilful damage to over 200 ALP signs.
"Naturally, I intend to defend myself, and to question Desley Boyle and her campaign manager about the election, the signs, the Yacht Club, and the nature of political contest in a democracy. I can't believe they're giving me the opportunity, Bryan says.
"I will be charged with either one count of doing wilful damage to 86 of Desley Boyle’s election signs, or 86 charges of doing wilful damage to one sign at a time," Bryan said this morning.
During the election campaign itself Desley Boyle, the MLA for Cairns, told reporters and the public that she was OK about the alteration to the signs, and would not be making any complaints to Police. This was one element of the election campaign that voters took into account when casting their ballot during the election.
On the very first working day after the election, Desley’s campaign director, on behalf of the ALP, lodged a complaint with Police, which has resulted in the charges being laid.
"Call me biased, but this kind of behaviour is typical of the Labor Party in Cairns, because it says one thing for public consumption, and does another for sectional interests; it is bullying, mean and vindictive; is obsessively bureaucratic (Desley Boyle was the candidate and beneficial owner of the signs, not the ALP); it is stupid, thuggish, and likely to back-fire upon them," Law says.
"I’ll be asking the Magistrate today to dismiss the charges without hearing because the complaint is improperly made out," he says. "Failing that I’ll be pleading not guilty and seeking a date for hearing."
"My plea of not guilty will acknowledge that I altered some signs, but those alterations did not amount to wilful damage. Rather they were an enhancement of the signs and a legitimate part of public election debate."
"This is demonstrated by the facts that, the signs were all left in place for the duration of the election and not removed by the ALP; the ALP is receiving cash offers to buy the altered signs, and not receiving any offers for the unaltered signs; if the ALP insists on its wilful damage of the electoral process I’ll be asking the prosecution to call Desley Boyle as a witness to establish the use and value of the signs, about which I will cross-examine her."
Bryan Law has no doubt that members of the Cairns community support him in his actions, and remain deeply sceptical of the commitment to democracy by Desley Boyle and the Cairns Branch of the ALP.
As a special treat to coincide with the battle before the Cairns Court, CairnsBlog will be auctioning off one of these collectibles, due to the notoriety they created. Let's find out their real value. Stay tuned.
12 comments:
This is all absolutely ridiculous. Like it or not, corflutes are property and the law protects property. It's that simple.
...'Bryan and Goliath'...
wtf?
Ok so he defaced property; I may agree with his message, but not his methods.
I'm sorry but his activism is little more than graffiti.
I wouldnt mind seeing if Bryan can get away with a freedom of political communication argument based on the Constitution.
Would be interesting.
The real story is not that Bryan was charged, but rather the manner in which Boyle and her cronies operate.
Yes Monkey, Brian's tiara was indeed graffiti. However, are not the corflutes themselves simply legal graffiti? The singularly unique right to post political corflutes on public property during election campaigns(with no compensating payment to the suffering public for the economic externality cost)is itself an anachronism which should be done away with?
Similarly, you are correct Nocturnal Congress, however as above, why are there particular rights here only for political nominees with regards to their property rights for corflutes posted on public public property?
Get rid of the anachronistic and wasteful rights of political parties to post their private property on public land? And then have the gall to claim property rights when it is interfered with! To that extent Brians action is laudable and the law is an ass which needs to be damned?
If only Desley had such esteem for the property rights of others. Those of us with a genuine claim for the state to fulfill a core role to protect genuine property rights from crime in Cairns can only laugh.
Curiously, neither monkey or nocturnal wanted to address the issue of why Desley chose to indicate she was cool with Brian's tiara during the election campaign only to change her mind and turn vindictive. You don't see this as a more important issue of moral integrity and character from an elected representative?
In all fairness, the Labor Party announced its Wild Rivers commitment during the election and, in fact, it was on posters put up at every polling booth in Queensland.
Work has been going on with Wild Rivers for the past couple of years and is not a secret.
That's not to say there isn't opposition to the proposals. There is, including from Aboriginal organisations and councils who have been looking at using their resources for economic development.
"it was on posters put up at every polling booth in Qld"
Really Joanne? What every single one? In what context? Where? Do you wanna put money on that? Or was it in fine print somewhere on the wall?
I wonder who else doesn't remember that? What a joke!
Bryan Law apparently told this blog "my plea of not guilty" will be made today. "I'll be asking the magistrate to dismiss the charges . . . because the complaint is improperly made out".
Neither of which occurred in today's hearing.
Supported by a large crowd of exactly ONE (his poor suffering partner), Law instead pleaded "ignorance" and "inadquate time" to the magistrate. He was told to find a lawyer, and told to come back next month.
A lot of hot air. Typical when it comes to Bryan Law.
KitchenSlut,
I think you will find little opposition from at least one political party about the usage of corflutes.
At the risk of repeating myself, why can't each party be limited as to the number of corflutes? Some councils allow unlimited, but most recognise the need to limit the number. It's up to the CRC to make a decision.
At present it's like the cold war - each party trying to outdo each other.
'Bryan Law has no doubt that members of the Cairns community support him in his actions'? Where are they?
As I recall from this blog people associated with the Save the Yacht Club campaign were very angry with Law over this issue and tried to distance themselves from his action. Truth is Law has lost credibility over this and his continued stance is just making him look pathetic. This is a pity as he once had something constructive to add to community debate. Hard to see how it will all back-fire on Desley Boyle - no-one will be interested in his ranting in Court (much less the Magistrate) and he will likely be convicted yet again..Such a pity.
CBD Warrior, I mean Alan Blake who sneaks around in his red sportscar trying to act like a Horney teenager, obviously felt like making some stuff up today... given the fact he was allowed an extra long weekend off work, courtesy of the Cairns Ratepayer...
Blakie certainly doesn't know what happened at Court today, because he wasn't there! Neither were his right wing LNP Spies.. mainly because the LNP have booted him out. He was told to stay away form the last State election campaign and didn't lift one finger to help the Cairns candidate in any way. Amazing, but hardly surprising.
As for his fairy story about this morning's mention at the Court... Bryan's partner Margaret wasn't there... she was working.
What nutters these folk are when they have a habit of blatant lying.
There is an old saying Blake should take note of, about not shiting in your own nest, which may be quite apt in this case!
I reckon our Bryan should have had a few of his own corflutes made with "Remember the Yacht Club" on them - it would have got the message across without defacing Desley Do-Nothing's displays. But then, Bryan wouldn't have been being naughty, would he? And fish gotta swim, & birds gotta fly.
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