Last Monday local climate protesters, Laura Levetan and Bernard Tonkin appeared at the Bendigo Magistrates Court on charges of trespass.
The protesters pleaded not guilty and the matter has been set aside for Contest Mention on September 25.
The arrests were made in March this year when Ms Levetan, Mr Tonkin and Dean Bridgfoot (whose case will also be heard at the mention in September), plus seven fellow activists, participated in an Australian-wide movement aimed at NAB.
“NAB persists in retaining and extending a massive amount of investment in fossil fuels including coal mines in Australia,” Ms Levatan said after being released from police custody.
“Because of climate change, we are out of time to do anything other than end coal and gas now.”Ignoring this scientific reality is tantamount to ecocide.
“We entered the NAB today to deliver a message that citizens expect banks to behave ethically. That is not the case should they
continue to invest in catastrophic climate change.”
The three climate activists are pleading a defence of necessity, arguing that given the imminence and immensity of the climate emergency, they had a lawful excuse to pressure the bank to not invest in a billion-dollar coal mine extension.
“When we attended court on August 7 the court informed us that this defence from the common law was now part of the Crimes Act and called ‘Sudden or Extraordinary Emergency’,” Mr Tonkin said.
Mr Tonkin told the Express that the defence being mounted by protesters in cases involving climate change usually required the defendant to call expert witnesses to prove that there was an imminent danger, a more minor though unlawful action was taken to avert the danger, there was a reasonable belief the action taken would avert the danger and that there were no legal alternative courses of action.
“Bendigo region has had 90 Rochester families living in a paddock in Elmore due to recent climate-driven local flood disasters,” Mr Tonkin said.
“People are starting to make the link between organisations like NAB and climate justice for women and kids who are on the front lines of climate change.”
In July 2023 NAB made the decision to refuse to fund Whitehaven Coal, Australia’s largest undiversified coal company.
“The actions around the country were effective. Whitehaven is now struggling to get funding,” Mr Tonkin said.
