Transport Minister and former Police Secretary David Elliot has accused the judiciary of not using the “penalties available to them” when convicting climate protesters who break the law.
NSW Transport Minister David Elliot has called on the judiciary to use the penalties to use them when convicting climate activists who break the law.
Speaking to Sky News Australia host Chris Kenny, the transport minister slammed climate activists who stopped traffic around Sydney during their protests.
Asked why protesters were lightly punished by the justice system, Mr Elliot said sanctions were in place but were not used.
“The question should be, when will the judiciary implement and enforce the penalties that parliament has given them to enforce when the police bring them a letter,” he said.
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Mr Elliot accused the judiciary of not using the penalties they had provided, saying climate protests were being dismissed too easily.
“We need to make sure that the justice system uses the punishments that are available to them,” he said.
“Otherwise, these people just giggle and go back and do exactly what they did the day before most of them have no job, if not all of them are likely to be unemployed.”
The transport minister believes the police are prosecuting the protesters but said the judiciary is not using enough penalties.
“I was happy last year, when I was police minister, that one of the protesters got a prison sentence,” he said.
“I was actually quite shocked at how excited and celebratory the NSW police were because it was the first time they had seen a magistrate impose a prison sentence on someone who honestly committed vandalism against our economy.”
The comments come after a German national stopped rush hour traffic trying to enter Port Botany on Wednesday morning as he suspended himself from the bridge with a rope tied to a light pole on the other side.
“These so-called environmentalists are not really environmentalists, because what this clown did this morning was dozens and dozens of cars staying on the road with their engines running to get to the harbor,” Mr Elliot said.
“What this environmental vandalism did this morning was the reason families and businesses were delaying their lives.”
The act was the latest in a series of similar protests, including the brother of the German national, who was allegedly involved in a demonstration that had stopped traffic five minutes from the port road the day before.
Last month, climate activists had to be towed by the Mosman Spit Bridge after halting peak hour traffic by sitting in the middle of the three southern lanes.
Mr Elliot argued that while he was Minister of Police last year, he announced that tougher sentences would be made available to ensure that community outreach reflected the punishment.
“If the equipment of the community is not reflected in judicial decisions, then Parliament must enter into justice to make the expression of the community,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Police Minister Paul O’Toole clarified the two German citizens who were arrested and said he wanted to see them “deported”.
“They have no place here in New South Wales to host these protests,” he said.
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