Peoples Court of Tasmania – Sentences
PEOPLE OF TASMANIA v MICHELLE ANNE O’BYRNE 15 MARCH 2010
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE STANNUS J
Michelle Anne O’Byrne did not appear in Court and entered no plea to the charges of failing as Minister to discharge her obligations under the Act [EMPC 1994], of occasioning material and/or serious environmental harm and of failing to discharge her duties and honour her obligations as an elected representative of the People of Tasmania.
As Minister for the Environment she had a responsibility to oversee the protection and enhancement of the quality of the Tasmanian environment and to prevent environmental degradation and adverse risks to human and ecosystem health. She failed to discharge that responsibility. By overseeing the regular pollution by smoke from forestry and the Parks and Wildlife Service controlled burns, she permitted potential serious or material harm to the citizens of the Tamar Valley and of the north and north-east of this state. Further, she permitted actual serious and material harm to the health of five people. Two of these people had sought meetings with her and had sought to speak with her about their concerns and had been rebuffed. They had not been able to meet with the Minister, nor to speak with her by phone. In this way she also failed to discharge her duties and obligations as an elected representative of the People of Tasmania. As Minister, she was aware of the life-threatening consequences of these controlled burns, but did nothing to prevent them.
She was responsible for the threats to life, acute pain, discomfort, illness, medical expenses et al. and loss of environmental amenity which was occasioned on these four residents and one visitor to the state by the smoke from the controlled burns of 2008 and 2009.
She has no prior record in this court. However, no testimonials attesting to her good character have been presented to this court and, according to the evidence presented, her work record is one of poor service to Tasmanians requiring environmental protection. I have nothing before me to suggest that the defendant may not commit a repeat of the specified offence or similar crime. Indeed, it is pubic knowledge that in this 2010 ‘burn season’ just begun, some 150 burns will be conducted. An aggravating factor, which I must consider, is that to date she has shown no remorse and is set to allow another year of environmental degradation and harm to human health from controlled burns.
The Court of Public Opinion occupies a unique position. It seeks to meet the individual and general public need for justice, a need for justice that is not achieved by the operation of the legal system in this state. Were this matter held in the Supreme Court, she would be facing a number of sentence options including imprisonment, fines, disqualification from holding public office, community service orders, probationary orders and rehabilitation program orders. (Sentencing Act 1997) This Court of Public Opinion shares with the Supreme Court a commitment to the following purposes of sentencing: punishment and retribution, rehabilitation of offenders, deterrence of offenders and other persons from committing offences (individual deterrence; and general deterrence), denunciation of the conduct of offenders and incapacitation. However, unlike the Legal Courts, this Court of Public Opinion has no coercive power and has no links with the Police or Prison system. It is the Public itself which will carry out such sentence as is imposed by this Court.
Ms O’Byrne, you are convicted. Orders will be made for this conviction to be recorded and for the following sentence to be imposed:
I authorise all members of the Tasmanian Public:
-to take such measures as they deem appropriate, provided they are legal and humane, to prevent you from the continuation of this program of smoke pollution by way of controlled-burns,
-to use their civic powers to ensure in the forthcoming election that you are removed from your position as the Minister for the Environment,
-to demand that you meet with Clive Stott and Angelika Allen and learn from them how you can attempt to make good the wrongs that have been done to them,
-to demand a public apology from you on behalf of all those harmed by your derelictions of duty and to also demand from you a public statement of recognition of the harm to your victims caused by your failures.
FINALLY this Court sentences you to be known and remembered as a Minister for the Environment who willfully failed to prevent risks to human health, thereby causing actual serious harm to the health of those you were required to act on behalf of – the members of the Tasmanian Public.
