Russel Norman discharged without conviction over oil ship protest
Friday, 21 September 2018
Two Greenpeace activists who disrupted an oil exploration vessel have been discharged without conviction.
Greenpeace executive director Russel Norman and fellow activist Sara Howell appeared in Napier District Court in July to apply for a discharge without conviction after admitting a charge of interfering with an oil exploration vessel.
Judge Arthur Tompkins made his decision on Friday.
Norman and Howell intercepted oil industry survey ship Amazon Warrior as it carried out work off the Wairarapa coast in April 2017 and swam in an exclusion zone near the ship.
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Norman said he was thrilled with the verdict.
'We see this as a major win not just for us, but for the whole movement of people fighting against fossil fuels,' he said.
'We love this planet and our kids, and we'll continue to fight to protect them from oil companies that want to destroy the climate in order to make profits,' he said.
'The science is clear - if we want our kids to have a safe climate, we can't afford to burn most of the oil, gas, and coal we've already discovered. It makes no sense to look for more.'
Howell said it was been encouraging to see how effective peaceful protest could be.
'I needed to take action because all of the life on this planet - in its oceans, mountains, rivers, forests, and cities - is marvellous and brilliant. It is delicately balanced and too special to destroy,' she said.
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment prosecuted the pair, claiming they had caused significant disruption and danger.
The Ministry said there had been a high level of perseverance and premeditation by the defendants, as evidenced by the fact they acknowledged they rehearsed their moves in advance.
Norman and Howell were represented by Ron Mansfield, who said the pair were devoted to fighting climate change and the burning of fossil fuels.
He described their actions as 'low level civil disobedience'.
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A third man involved in the protest, Gavin Mulvay, had accepted the offer of diversion. Norman and Howell were offered diversion, but declined as they were unwilling to make a public statement of apology that would be required. They later pleaded guilty.
Judge Tompkins said if Norman and Howell were convicted they would receive a more serious penalty than Mulvay 'when all three were equally involved in exactly the same sequence of events'.
The Judge said the gravity of the offending was low and the effect of convictions for the pair would be out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence.
He noted that both had been prepared to make considerable donations to charity but 'I do not consider that that should be a pre-condition to the making of an order for discharge'.
'Whether either defendant chooses to give that offer substance is now a matter for them,' he said.
According to a summary of facts, the crew on the Amazon Warrior asked the protesters to move, citing safety concerns. The request was refused by those on board the Taitu.
Then the Amazon Warrior took evasive action by turning to port side Norman and the others were rotated in and out of the water in order to stay in the path of the ship.
The ship was eventually forced to make a complete 360-degree turn.
The summary stated that it costs about $400,000 a day to conduct the survey and the evasive action took 8 hours at a cost to Schlumberger of about $150,000.
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