A Hobart magistrate has issued an arrest warrant for an Aboriginal activist who refused to appear in court on charges stemming from a protest because he does not consider himself an Australian citizen.
Jim Everett-puralia meenamatta, 81, said he had no intention of appearing before a “colonial court” and said it “has no jurisdiction over the Aboriginal people who protect our country.”
“We have never made any agreement to be citizens,” said Everett-puralia meenamatta.
The activist was arrested and charged with trespassing in March during an anti-forestry protest in the Styx Valley of the Giants in southern Tasmania.
His matter was listed in Hobart Magistrates Court on Monday but he decided not to appear, prompting Magistrate Glenn Hay to issue an arrest warrant for the 81-year-old.
Jim Everett-puralia meenamatta (pictured), 81, said he had no intention of appearing before a “colonial court”, claiming he “has no jurisdiction over the Aboriginal people who protect our country”.
He claims he is “ready” to be arrested after refusing to appear in court on Monday.
“There was no need to appear, the court has no jurisdiction over Aboriginal people protecting our country,” Everett-puralia meenamatta said.
Everett-puralia meenamatta, who plans to continue protest actions in the coming months, said she was not worried about the prospect of a jail sentence or fine.
“Either they’ll catch up with me before I can do much more… or they won’t,” he said.
‘I’ll probably get fined and then I’ll complete what I’m doing and continue to develop this problem.
‘It’s no use standing up and arguing with a colonial government and expecting them to listen to you the first time you jump on it. “I’m going to keep pushing.”
Forestry Tasmania, the state’s public forestry company, was logging in the Giants’ Styx Valley area at the time of Everett-puralia meenamatta’s arrest.
As part of his bail conditions, he has been banned from Forestry Tasmania’s permanent timber production lands, which make up more than 800,000 hectares of public forest in the state.
However, Everett-puralia meenamatta said she would continue to protest against native logging.
“I have every sovereign right to go there and protect my country, and they have no jurisdiction to stop me,” he said.
“They’ll have to take me by the arms” to court.
He said he would refuse to plead before a “colonial court” and would instead tell the magistrate that they were defending their sovereignty.
‘They will do what they want. I could be fined for contempt of court, it could be a lot of things, it doesn’t matter,” she said.
“We will continue to arrest us until this issue is raised nationwide and the government is forced to address the issue of citizenship.”
Veteran environmentalist Bob Brown, whose organization organized the March protest, went to court and described the situation as a legal test case.
“A court is overriding the sovereignty of Jim Everett, an Aboriginal man who has enormous respect in the First Nations community,” Mr Brown told reporters.
As part of his bail conditions, Everett-puralia meenamatta has been banned from Forestry Tasmania’s permanent timber production lands, which make up more than 800,000 hectares of public forest in the state.
But he said he would continue to protest against native logging, saying the prospect of jail did not faze him.
‘Every similar nation in the world has a treaty with its original people where the people have invaded and established courts. This country doesn’t do it.’
Tasmanian Aboriginal Center campaign manager Nala Mansell has called for the trespassing charge to be dropped.
“The power that white people have over Aboriginal people, our lives, culture and cultural responsibilities has to have some flexibility,” he said in a statement.
“White people can govern and manage themselves, but their laws should not apply to Aboriginal people.”
Everett-puralia meenamatta, a plangermairreenner pakana man who has written poetry, plays, political and academic articles and short stories, has visited many remote aboriginal communities.
“If you understand what it is to be Aboriginal, it’s to be part of a country,” he said. ‘If you harm a country, you are harming our community.
“There has been a lot of research done on generational trauma due to the destruction of our country.”
