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Last year we learned that Blue Wedges had joined Somali pirates, Peruvian raiders and Gulf terrorists on the US Office of Naval Intelligence's international threat list, as a credible threat to international shipping^[1]. Yesterday’s decision in the Frankston Magistrate’s court, dismissing charges against six protestors who paddled out to meet the Queen of the Netherlands last year suggests that whoever arranged that “Intelligence” listing (presumably someone in government) needs to go and take a cold shower.

Magistrate Rod Crisp described the protest as a peaceful gesture of a “pantomime” nature, and said that in a civilised democracy, such actions should attract minimal penalties.

Our fellow travellers, the paddlers, aren’t terrorists they are courageous people who stood up for the Bay in the face of a state government so hell bent on channel deepening that it claimed the environmental issues could be managed even before environmental studies had been done. 

It seems like channel deepening, (like De-Sal and the North South pipeline) has been more about Mr. Brumby refusing to back down rather than good government. Despite the PoMC's desperate advertising splurge, history will show it's the people who had the courage to stand up against Mr. Brumby who are the real heroes.  

Peaceful happy people after all

30^th March 2009 Image: P. Crotty