Thompson Square supporters have claimed a victory in court after former senator Lee Rhiannon and two local residents escaped conviction over protest action at Thompson Square.
But police prosecutor Sergeant Paul Bush said the unsanctioned January 8 protest had a "significant impact" on local police resources, and the late guilty plea saw a dozen local police called away from the station for the case.
Ms Rhiannon, 67, and two co-accused, Windsor residents Paul Evans, 60, and Michael Eggleton, 69, appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday, September 25 in relation to the protest, which aimed to stop demolition of the Windsor bridge and oppose construction of a new bridge.
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Ms Rhiannon pleaded guilty to one count of not obeying the direction of a police officer, while Mr Evans and Mr Eggleton both pleaded guilty to resisting arrest. All three had other charges against them withdrawn.
Troy Edwards representing Ms Rhiannon told the court his client had been involved with the protest movement at Windsor Bridge for the past three years but had never been charged previously with any offences.
Her interaction in refusing police direction had been “passive”, he said.
Deone Provera, representing Mr Evans, said his client was “a peaceful, decent person” who did not physically prevent workers accessing the archaeological dig site on the day. He was at the protest in sympathy for the cause with his camera, and “ultimately got drawn in”, Mr Provera said.
The court was also told Mr Eggleton, who had been involved with the campaign for a number of years, came to the aid of Mr Evans on the day and had never come into contact with police or the justice system.
However, Mr Bush requested the court take into account the significant resources used by local police both at the protest and in court when considering a sentence.
Magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis said the right to lawful and peaceful protest was important to uphold.
“I can understand there are local residents who are concerned about the trashing of something which, to them, is of cultural significance,” he said.
Mr Tsavdaridis found the offences proven, however recorded no convictions against the three.
Mr Evans and wife Elaine Lally left the court chanting “save Windsor Bridge, save Thompson Square”, Mr Evans then calling on Premier Gladys Berejiklian to “reconsider the work that’s going on in Windsor”.
Mr Eggleton said he was happy with the result.
“I was quite happy with the result but unfortunately it shouldn’t have got to this stage because our local member Dominic Perrottet was reluctant to come along and speak to us. It shouldn’t have eventuated here in court,” he said outside the court.
“Thompson Square needs some sort of protection … and that’s the thing we were trying to do. [It’s] a great part of our heritage. Windsor is one of the oldest towns in Australia, and we need to protect that nationally.”
Ms Rhiannon said the “win in court … was very significant” and would “give great encouragement to the community”.
“Not only has the court recognised our right to protest but the outcome will give great encouragement to the local community to push ahead with their campaign to save Thompson Square,” she said outside the court
“Our actions at the 8 January protest were justified because of the significance of the issues.”
When asked why she simply didn’t pay the fine, Ms Rhiannon said she “took a stand”.
“I saw what happened to them [Mr Eggleton and Mr Evans] … they shouldn’t have even had to come to court today,” she told reporters. “Seriously, this day didn’t go well for the police. A bit of time’s been wasted, a bit of resources have been wasted, but we had to come here to stand with the community and to continue this battle to save this heritage site.”
Ms Rhiannon said she was “not at all’ happy with the waste of police time, “but the police didn’t need to push it to this point”.